Gender-based differences stifle the growth of women-owned businesses across all 31 countries measured, according to Dell's findings of the Global Women Entrepreneur Leaders Scorecard. The scorecard was announced at its sixth-annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Summit.
More than 70 per cent of the 31 countries in the study score below 50 per cent demonstrating a significant growth gap between female and male-owned businesses worldwide (76 per cent of global GDP is covered by the study). And while the US is No.1 on the Scorecard due predominantly to a favourable business environment overall and women’s job mobility in the private sector, it still only scores 71 per cent overall. If American women started growth-oriented businesses at the same rate as men, the nation would gain an estimated 15 million jobs in two years.
Canada and Australia score 69 per cent each and are placed second and third respectively.
The Dell-sponsored Scorecard is the first analysis focused on the challenges and opportunities for women business-owners to launch, scale, create jobs and disrupt industries. The goal of the Scorecard is to provide a diagnostic tool that will advise leaders, policy-makers and law-makers on how to improve conditions in their countries and enable businesses founded by women to thrive.
The 2015 Scorecard evaluates 31 countries across five key categories: relative business environments, access to resources, leadership and rights, pipeline for female entrepreneurship and potential for high-growth women-owned businesses. The new Scorecard also looks at key factors proven to unleash high-impact female entrepreneurship and estimates the number of jobs created by women-owned businesses if they reached their growth potential.
Read the whole report here .