Female entrepreneurs go to school
Girls and women on their way to becoming entrepreneurs
Fortunately, it is normal in Germany for girls and young women to go to school, study or complete an apprenticeship and then start their professional lives – however, millions of women around the world are still discriminated against when it comes to access to education. And the professional self-employment of women is also gaining in importance in Germany. According to the microcensus in 2021, 33.2 percent of all self-employed were women. For the same year, the Start-up Monitor 2022 even recorded a relatively high number of business start-ups by women at 42 percent.
“However, only 5.8 percent of all female employees in Germany were self-employed. This is also due to the fact that there are not enough role models - many women cannot even imagine starting their own company. This is why initiatives such as 'Entrepreneurs teach' are so important to get young women excited about self-employment and entrepreneurship at an early stage," says Michaela Schenk, owner and managing director of MAWA GmbH. As part of the IHK campaign in May 2023, Schenk provided an insight into working as an entrepreneur in a global company and reported on her experiences as a boss.
Female Role Models - Entrepreneurs of the Future
Female role models are important to encourage girls and young women to take the step into self-employment at some point. For example, a study by Canadian psychologist Penelope Lockwood found that same-sex role models are more important to women than men. The participants identified much more with the presented female role model than with the male counterpart. At the same time, they saw their successes as realistically achievable for themselves. “In the previous day I therefore reported on my personal career, how I started my career in publishing after school and university and finally decided to change my life and take over a company. I also told the students that I went to college against my father's wishes - and didn't take over the family business - and thus laid the foundation for my career," says Schenk. Because it has always been her dream to run her own company. “If you manage a company and are responsible for employees, there are always challenging phases that have to be mastered. Nevertheless, I advise anyone who wants to start their own business to take this step," says Schenk.
It is only important that you support each other and not be guided by the image that others have of you.
