The U.S. Is #1 for Female Entrepreneurs
For women entrepreneurs, the United States really is the greatest country in the world. Dell released its first-ever Global Women Entrepreneur Leaders Scorecard this week, and the U.S. emerged as the nation most favorable to women business owners.
The Dell scorecard analyzed women’s business environments, access to resources, leadership and rights, pipelines for entrepreneurship, and potential to own high-growth businesses in 31 countries. The U.S. came out on top due to its “overall favorable business environment and women’s job mobility in the private sector.” Canada and Australia tied for second place, and Sweden came in fourth. (You read that right: the U.S. beat a Scandinavian country on an index related to gender equality. Let’s all take a moment to savor this day.)
However, women entrepreneurs in all countries studied still have a ways to go to achieve full equality with their male counterparts. After all, the U.S.’s top grade of 71 out of 100 is still only a C in most grading rubrics; even as the highest-scoring country in the Business Environment category, the U.S. has a persistent gender gap in capital availability. As the Dell researchers put it: “All countries, regardless of overall scores, stand to gain from improving conditions for high-impact women entrepreneurs.”
Dell has pledged to do its part to close the entrepreneurship gender gap by partnering with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to mentor female entrepreneurs in developing countries. Its full report on the GWEL Scorecard also includes recommended actions for governments, the private sector, the media, leaders, and individuals.
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