43% of women are interested in starting a business but only 26.5% were owned by them

For the first time, the Business and Entrepreneurship Agency organized a survey on women's entrepreneurship in Israel, which was presented at the conference. The survey examines the status of women's entrepreneurship in Israel in comparison to men, the status of businesses run by women, the level of entrepreneurship and self-employment in the economy, obstacles and motives for starting a business, and more. The survey was conducted by the Geocartography Institute in January 2018 among 1,000 men and women aged 18 and older.
- 31% of women were considering or are in the process of setting up their own businesses or moving from rental to paris, compared with 41% of men in the same process. On the question of motivation, it is clear that women are less interested in starting an independent business (43%) than in men (54%).
- There is a high variance between women and men in the entrepreneurial process - from concept to realization: 42% of the women said they thought about the idea of ​​starting a business (compared to 51% of the men). Of these, only 38% examined the feasibility of establishing the business (compared with 53% of the men). The actual establishment of the business - 34% of the women reached this stage, compared to 40% of the men.
- The main incentives for starting a business are among all respondents (men and women): the ability to earn more (56%), flexible work hours (49%) and maximizing personal profit and not profit for the business owner / company (40%).
Among women only: 56% cited the ability to work flexible hours as a central motive, 55% the ability to earn more, 43% the desire to develop talent (35% among men). Men noted at high rates the desire to earn more and flexible working hours.
(42%) and severe competition (28%), which was high among men (32%), the loss of regular income (57%), ) Compared to women (25%). Women reported a higher rate of lack of self-marketing experience (28%) than men (21%) and 22% noted that their main constraint was lack of financial knowledge, compared to 17% of men. The fear of losing permanent income was noted among women at a higher rate (60%) than among men (54%).
- The survey found that women's main difficulty in running a business is the issue of marketing and customer acquisition, and 63% of the women noted it with a considerable difference from the other difficulties. Among men, one of the main difficulties is marketing, but at a significantly lower rate than among women (24%). Among 46% of men, more economic difficulties were noted, with a considerable proportion of women (19%). It is important to note that about 20% of the men stated that they had no difficulties at all, compared to the women who did not respond.
The participants in the survey were also asked if they believed that there were difficulties in starting and running an independent business that men did not have. The findings indicate that most of the respondents noted that women do not have difficulties that men do not have, but men noted this at a higher rate: 84% compared with women (69%).
- Only 14% of women see a commitment to raising children, the main difficulty they have in running an independent business.
The most common occupation among men is high-tech (26%); women, on the other hand, are more involved in teaching and training (18%), insurance and finance (15%) and administration and secretaries (15%).
Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, for 2015, show that about half of all women with an independent business have an academic degree, compared with only 30% of men in business. In the Arab sector, women are leading in the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and in the private sector The Jewish women lead independent businesses in the health, welfare and social work services.
Ran Kiviti, Director of the Agency for Small and Medium Businesses in the Ministry of Economy and Industry: "Women are a central force in the Israeli labor market, as well as in small and medium-sized businesses in all sectors, industries and business fields. The SAWA initiative for Bedouin women in the Negev, who have difficulty in raising bank credit, established various credit funds for small and medium-sized businesses, and in the area of ​​regulation, the Agency has promoted various laws for the benefit of owners And business ownership Israel. In addition, through an imaginative, the agency assists businesses and entrepreneurs in the areas of business consulting, financing and loans, Training and mapping needs of businesses and entrepreneurs. "