SOME REALITIES OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Globally, according to a report of the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines, our country has the second highest percentage of entrepreneurially active females, next only to Peru. A survey conducted by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship in 2006-2007 as member of the global entrepreneurship research consortium, found that in the Philippines:
· Women constitute more than half of nascent business owners, 69%, and of new business owners, 51%.
· However, established business owners are still predominantly male, 66%.
· This is probably explained by the fact that although women are more predisposed to set up enterprises and play a unique role during the critical and fragile stage, after stability is attained, the husband takes over. Women cite family time management as the single biggest reason why they turn over the business to their menfolk.
· Women entrepreneurs typically tend to go into enterprises traditionally regarded as “female” – garment making, furniture, jewelry, handicraft such as home decors and toy making, food such as processing, bakery and catering, retailing, herbal medicine, dormitories and pre-schools.
THE MOST FREQUENTLY GIVEN REASONS WHY WOMEN GO INTO ENTREPRENEURSHIP ARE:
· To augment family income
· To take advantage of an opportunity in the environment
· They want to be their own boss
· They want income for themselves despite well-earning husbands
· And, less frequently, they inherited the business or could not find employment
On April 12, 2006, the journal The Economist published an article entitled “Guide to Womenomics”. Womenomics is a coined word combining “women” and “economics”. It is a new international term coined by economists during a recent international economists’ conference. The Economist magazine article analyzed facts and figures related to women’s contribution to world economic performance. The most significant conclusions it reached are:
· The future of the world economy lies increasingly in female hands.
· Women are becoming more important in the global marketplace: not just as workers, but also as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and decision makers.
· Women have traditionally done most of the household shopping but now they have more money on their own to spend.
· Surveys suggest that women make 80% of consumer buying decisions – from health care and homes to furniture and food.
· Women are now the most powerful engine of global growth.
To improve economic interests and promote opportunities for women's entrepreneurial development, education and training; social and network support; and the application of information technology are all vital. Following actions are recommended:
1. help women to build their knowledge, develop core competence for starting
businesses provide training and promote mentor programs;
2. assist women to create market channels and form strategic alliances;
3. review current regulations and develop complete legal structures;
4. promote and encourage women to use information and communication technology; and
5. build a "Micro Enterprises/SMEs Women’s Enterprise Network", and establish a
"Micro Enterprises/SMEs Best Practice Cases Forum".
Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs
1. Personal characteristics of women entrepreneurs
(1) The age range for starting a business is generally between 30 and 45.
(2) Education level is generally college or university.
(3) Most women entrepreneurs are married and have children.
(4) Most of them are the eldest child in the family.
(5) The fathers of most women entrepreneurs are also entrepreneurs.
(6) Most women entrepreneurs already have associated work experience before starting a business.
Management style of Women Entrepreneurs in the Philippines
Ø Women are more patient in handling business problems.
Ø • Women are more personal when it comes to dealing with customers. They are tactful and careful with words.
Ø • Feminine charm has its place with clients, suppliers, and bankers who tend to be more patient, friendly, open, and accommodating when dealing with women.
Ø • Women tend to handle finances more carefully than men, observe better budgetary controls than men, and are considered to be conscious of their financial obligations with banks/sources of credits.
Ø • Women entrepreneurs have better ways and are subtler than men in their approaches to information gathering. They are good in networking, and are able to get assistance and cut through bureaucratic red tape with grace.
Ø • Women from the upper income levels of the society enjoy more flexibility. If their business fails, they still have their husband's (or at times, their immediate family’s) income to fall back on.
Problems facing women entrepreneurs
Ø Women entrepreneurs consider the following areas as challenges:
Ø Ability to compete and to expand their markets;
Ø • Effective ways to deal with customers;
Ø • Producing and providing quality goods and services to Filipino consumers; and
Ø • Stiff competition within the industry.
Ø • Many Filipino women are reluctant to grow in business, preferring the ease and simplicity of a business operation which employs a few workers, produces one or two products, and serves a limited market. Already burdened with manifold responsibilities, they are afraid of the demands of growth. Thus, when growth is imminent they often involve their husbands and male family members.
Ø • Women tend to have a narrow view regarding competition as being local rather than global. They do business with this parochial mindset even as the rest of the world has become more globalized in terms of marketing, product design, and business operations. Compounding this narrow view is the woman entrepreneur's reluctance to grow in business.
Training and management
• Lack of credibility. They find it relatively harder to be accepted in leadership and management roles. The respondents would like to be accepted and to be successful in their respective industries, not because of "feminine charms," but because they are equally capable and skillful in managing their businesses.
Ø Women entrepreneurs consider the following areas as challenges:
Ø Ability to compete and to expand their markets;
Ø • Effective ways to deal with customers;
Ø • Producing and providing quality goods and services to Filipino consumers; and
Ø • Stiff competition within the industry.
Ø • Many Filipino women are reluctant to grow in business, preferring the ease and simplicity of a business operation which employs a few workers, produces one or two products, and serves a limited market. Already burdened with manifold responsibilities, they are afraid of the demands of growth. Thus, when growth is imminent they often involve their husbands and male family members.
Ø • Women tend to have a narrow view regarding competition as being local rather than global. They do business with this parochial mindset even as the rest of the world has become more globalized in terms of marketing, product design, and business operations. Compounding this narrow view is the woman entrepreneur's reluctance to grow in business.
Training and management
• Lack of credibility. They find it relatively harder to be accepted in leadership and management roles. The respondents would like to be accepted and to be successful in their respective industries, not because of "feminine charms," but because they are equally capable and skillful in managing their businesses.
• Lack of access to business training and technology. Most entrepreneurs in the small business sector, regardless of gender, lack access to information, technology, technical training, markets, and financial credit terms. These problems tend to be magnified when the entrepreneur is a woman. Some of the respondents stated that it has been difficult for them to assume the role of technical people.
• Another concern of these women entrepreneurs is time management and the stresses that go with running the day-to-day operations of a business.
• Sustaining business operations and making their business more stable against the backdrop of the financial crisis is another concern identified by the respondents.
Finance
In finance, their concerns include:
• Increasing sales and decreasing costs;
• Securing additional capital for expansion purposes;
• Having enough cash in order to sustain operations;
• The increasing prices of inputs (such as raw materials) brought about by the financial crisis; and
• Gaining easy access to credit sources, such as those enjoyed by male entrepreneurs.
Ø References
· Pwu.edu.ph/ hzb/hz_speeches_092008_the eomen_university_women_entrepreneurship.htm
· APEC. “APEC Economies: Breaking down the barriers”. APEC, 2001, APEC#201-CT-01.4
· http://www3.babson.edu/CWL/research/upload/GEMWomen07
· http://www.apec.info/asia/wPhilippines.pdf.PPROACH
· Women" and its icon on the homepage of the APEC Center for Technology Exchange
Note: Thank you to the staff of Aklan SP Office for sharing the above researched information to WomEN-Aklan. Part of which was shared by our inspiration speaker during its formal induction.
