OECD Report to G7 leaders on women and entrepreneurship: A summary of recent data and policy developments in G7 countries
Thanks to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel’s outstanding leadership during Germany’s G7
Presidency, the promotion of women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurship,
education and employment has gained considerable momentum. Joint G7 Principles, new role
models and a new G7 platform for successful women in politics, economy and society raised the
potential to further support gender equality in G7 countries and beyond.
The Leaders Declaration of the G7 Summit of 7-8 June in Schloss Elmau, Germany, identifies
women’s entrepreneurship as a key driver of innovation, growth and jobs, but also recognises that,
across G7 countries and around the world, far fewer women than men run their own businesses
often due to additional barriers that women face in starting and growing businesses (German G7
Presidency, 2015).
G7 leaders also agreed on common principles to boost women’s entrepreneurship making girls and
women aware of the possibility of becoming entrepreneurs, and addressing specific needs of women
entrepreneurs, e. g. by promoting their access to finance, markets, skills, leadership opportunities
and networks.
G7 leaders asked the OECD to monitor progress on promoting women’s entrepreneurship, and this
note provides a bird’s eye view of developments regarding women and entrepreneurship. It first
summarizes recent evidence on women’s entrepreneurship and then discusses policies to boost
women’s entrepreneurship along the lines of the G7 Principles on Women’s entrepreneurship.