Fostering Gender Equality - Evers und Jung

FOSTERING GENDEREQUALITY: MEETING THEENTREPRENEURSHIP ANDMICROFINANCE CHALLENGENational Report GermanyExpertise by Evers & JungStefanie Lahn, Dagmar Hayen, Michael Unterberg© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 3

IndexExecutive summary .................................................................................................... 61 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 101.1 Project Background ................................................................................ 101.2 Purpose of the Study and Report .......................................................... 101.3 Methodology............................................................................................ 111.4 Gender and Equality Concepts and Definitions ................................... 132 General Country Information ............................................................................ 142.1 Key Data on economic and gender equality in Germany..................... 142.2 Evolution of female share in total self-employment............................. 143 Scorecard Results Germany............................................................................. 163.1 Final Scoring............................................................................................ 163.2 Dimension A: General National Context For Entrepreneurship.......... 163.3 Dimension B: Gender Equality in Society............................................. 203.4 Dimension C: Gender Equality in Labour Market Inclusion and WelfareBridges to Self-employment................................................................... 233.5 Dimension D: Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship and SelfEmployment............................................................................................. 273.6 Dimension E: Gender Equality in Support Structures forEntrepreneurship .................................................................................... 323.7 Dimension F: Gender Equality in Access to Finance........................... 344 Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................... 404.1 Conclusions .......................................................................................... 404.2 Recommendations .................................................................................. 425 Annex .................................................................................................................. 455.1 Experts Interviewed ................................................................................ 455.2 List of References ................................................................................... 455.3 Useful Websites....................................................................................... 475.4 Expert Questionnaires ............................................................................ 485.5 List of Dimensions and Indicators used................................................ 52© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 4

Executive summaryWomen represent only 30 % of entrepreneurs in Europe and cite access to finance asone of the most significant constraints affecting the launch, growth and sustainability oftheir businesses. With businesses clustered in the very competitive service sector,higher poverty levels, greater unemployment rates and fewer assets than men, it canbe difficult for women to access traditional bank lending to start their businesses.Microfinance addresses this challenge by offering business loans of 25,000 euros andless to persons excluded from bank lending. Moreover, microfinance providers oftenaccept alternative or no collateral or guarantees and provide training and supportservices to their clients. In contrast to most other regions of the world, however, mostmicrofinance providers in Europe are reaching women at a rate barely above nationalfemale entrepreneurship rates.The EU funded project Fostering Gender Equality: Meeting the Entrepreneurshipand Microfinance Challenge aims to address this shortcoming by improving thesector’s understanding of women’s enterprise and identifying and exchanging on goodpractice. The project involves implementation and evaluation of a series of pilotprojects, best practice exchange visits and comparative studies carried out by ninenetwork members under the coordination of the European Microfinance Network.This country report devised by the German project partner EVERS & JUNG is part ofthe comparative studies carried out in the eight countries represented in the project.The purpose of the study is to evaluate the business environment for womenentrepreneurs in the following European countries: Belgium, France, Germany,Hungary, Norway, Spain, Slovakia and the UK.The research methodology of the study is based on a multidimensional Scorecard tool.The eight study teams have collected data on the following six dimensions whichrepresent key factors affecting gender equality in self-employment andentrepreneurship. They were rated on a scale from 1 (very poor performance) to 5(very good performance):• General National Context for Entrepreneurship• Gender Equality in Society• Gender Equality in Labour Market Inclusion and Welfare Bridges to Self-Employment• Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment• Gender Equality in Access to FinanceThe German national report presents the German Scorecard Diagram, whichsummarises the study results. The report explains and justifies the scores, highlightsgood practice examples and provides short case studies on innovative gender equalityand entrepreneurship initiatives.General National Context for EntrepreneurshipSCORE: 2.7Although GDP growth has been below the OECD average during recent years, theGDP per capita and the net real income per capita in Germany are still well above theOECD average. The public support structure for enterprise development in Germany iscomparatively well developed. The physical infrastructure is among the best around© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 6

the world. The level of entrepreneurial culture in Germany is low compared to the othercountries in the study. In particular, the impact of risk avoidance behaviour onentrepreneurial activity is stronger than in other European countries. Administrativeburdens for conducting business activity are traditionally high in Germany, althoughrecent reform efforts have improved the situation. Income support programs for selfemploymentout of (registered) unemployment are in place and have led to highnumbers of start-ups out of unemployment in recent years. The access to externalfinance for start-ups in Germany has worsened rapidly during recent years. Inparticular, micro and small enterprises face greater difficulties compared to mediumsizedenterprises. A national microfinance sector is not well developed yet.Gender Equality in SocietyGender equality as such is rising on the national governmental agenda in Germany.But on the local level, according to the experts asked, gender equality and especiallygender equality in entrepreneurship is not treated as a priority issue in localdevelopment strategies. The socio-economic gender equality in Germany is morehighly developed than in other countries, but women still face a greater risk of povertythan men, especially lone parents. Women are still under-represented in leadershipand decision-making positions in government, legislative bodies and managerialpositions. The higher the position the more they are underrepresented.Gender Equality in Labour Market Inclusion and Welfare Bridges to Self-EmploymentSCORE: 3.3SCORE: 2.3Women’s participation in the German labour market is far from being equal to that ofmen. While Germany exhibits an average female activity rate compared to other EUmember states, the gender pay gap is still one of the highest across Europe. Asignificant part of it is the result of wage discrimination, especially in WesternGermany. Additionally, there exists a clearly visible gender gap in the employmentimpact of parenthood. This is connected to persistent role models and lack ofinfrastructure for reconciliation of family and work. Different European reports rated theprovision of childcare services for under-threes in Germany as highly inadequate.Although the subject is now high on the government agenda, progress in this area isslow.Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship and Self-EmploymentStatistical data for Germany indicate a bigger gender gap in self-employment thanthe EU 25 average at relatively low rates of overall self-employment. The gender gapis even higher in early entrepreneurship activity, as defined by the GlobalEntrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Part-time self-employment and soloentrepreneurshipare much more prevalent among women than men in Germany. Thisis one reason why the average number of employees and the average annual turnoverof women-led enterprises are distinctively smaller than those of men-led enterprises.Regarding the entrepreneurial culture, the German society is still dominated by arather traditional picture of male role models, which is also reinforced through themedia.Gender Equality in Support Structures for EntrepreneurshipThe consideration of specific needs of women and men is not very widespread in thedesign of mainstream promotion activities for fostering entrepreneurship in Germany.The number of specific programmes targeting women or programmes taking women‘sneeds into account is not sufficient yet and needs to be enlarged. Systematic andSCORE: 2.3SCORE: 2.8© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 7

egular research activities on gender aspects of entrepreneurship do exist in Germany,though experts are critical that statistics on gender aspects and gender disaggregateddata are only available on a limited scale and do not cover all relevant aspects. Thereare some examples of the use of gender research results to improve policy measuresand the practice of the support structures for entrepreneurship in Germany. But this isstill the exception.Gender Equality in Access to FinanceIt can be stated that, on average, female entrepreneurs have lower capital needs anduse less own financial start-up resources than their male counterparts in Germany.Regarding access to bank finance, it can be stated that women make fewer creditapplications than men in Germany and experts report a difficult situation for women incommunicating with banks. Additionally, latest available statistical data reveal adeclining share of female entrepreneurs in the mainstream programmes of publicfinancing. In regard to this, given the overrepresentation of women in socially excludedgroups like single parents at the risk of poverty and the high number of female startupsout of economic inactivity, female entrepreneurs can be considered as a key targetgroup for microlenders in Germany. Nevertheless, the limited available data supportthe thesis that the full potential is not tapped yet.SCORE: 2.4Gender equality in access tofinanceGeneral national context forentrepreneurship543210Gender equality in societyGender equality in supportstructures forentrepreneurshipGender equality in labourmarket inclusionGender equality inentrepreneurshipFigure 1: National Scorecard Results for Germany (Executive Summary)Summing up, the study revealed that there is a strong case in Germany for- fostering strategic policy options on gender equality in entrepreneurship atall levels: government, financial service providers and business supportorganisations- promoting female entrepreneurship and- increasing the share of 7,6% self-employment in total female employmentto at least the male share of 14%.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 8

The recommendations that follow have been developed from the findings of the projectand are aimed at four key groups: policy makers, practitioners, funding providers andresearchers. This is because all four constituencies have a role to play in improvingeconomic and social opportunities in general and for women in particular in Germany.Key Target GroupGovernment /Policy makersPolicy recommendations- create better conditions for reconciliation of family andwork- foster gender mainstreaming in society and the labourmarket- invent policy measures for more gender equality in wages- consider specific gender needs in the design of supportprograms- foster networking with successful businesswomen- make welfare bridge support available to peoplebecoming self-employed out of inactivity- enforce systematic data collection- set incentives for gender specific quality standards ininstitutions providing BDSPractitioners- develop and implement quality standards for the provisionof BDS- increase awareness of women in German business lifeFinance and Funding Providers- collect gender-aggregated data on a regular basis- enable access to gender-specific statistical data- take gender-specific needs into account in the design offinancial measuresResearchers- channel research on female entrepreneurship in a moresystematic way- conduct consistent research as regards financing ofwomen entrepreneursSince female entrepreneurs display very distinctive characteristics, a “one size fits all”strategy does not seem capable of changing this situation. Policy instruments shouldrather be based on the experiences in other countries with similar problems. Theapproach of the project on the European level will help in the task of identifying suchoptions.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 9

• Gender Equality in Access to FinanceThese dimensions represent key factors affecting female self-employment andentrepreneurship. Each dimension was divided into equally weighted subdimensionsthat deal with specific aspects of the situation in the country.To rate the application of gender equality in a country, indicators and scoring tableswere determined for each subdimension. A scale from one to five was used to scoreeach indicator. A five indicates gender equality or the best support for reachinggender equality in a certrain aspect, while a one indicates a very high degree ofgender inequality or high hurdles for reaching gender equality. As much as possible,the scores given are based upon quantifiable indicators and comparable data availablefrom the World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, Eurobarometer and the GlobalEntrepreneurship Monitor’s global, national and women’s entrepreneurship reports 4 . Ifno such data sources were available, national data sources were used.Some of the indicators were based on expert interviews. These interviews wereconducted with two standarized expert questionnaires 5 (see annexe) to allowcomparable ratings for these indicators. The expert interviews additionally included amore open part to collect more ‘qualitative’ information about the analysed issues anddimensions as well as hints for best practice examples.After collecting national data and expert opinions, the results were calibrated byEVERS & JUNG to make sure that the scores featured in the country reports are givenon the same basis. The results are displayed in an easy to read radar diagram foreach country.The scoring of those indicators based on national sources proved to be a somewhatcumbersome process, as the data available to the project partners was often patchy orincomplete. Some of the scores given therefore rely on a more ‘subjective’ rating thanenvisaged. Given the general problem of availabilty of gender-disaggregated data inEurope 6 and the character of this scorecard as a ‘first shot’ 7 to measure the genderequality in issues connected with entrepreneurship and microfinance, this problemdidn’t come as a surprise. For further development of the gender scorecard it willcertainly be a big challenge to rearrange indicators according to the availability ofreliable data.Next to the completion of the scorecard each country team also gathered informationon gender equality and entrepreneurship initiatives during data collection. These arepresented throughout the report as good practice examples and short case studies.4 Since France and Slovakia didn’t participate in the GEM 2006, the partners in these countries interviewedexperts on the basis of the original GEM questionnaire to produce comparable scores.5 The design of the questionnaire was based on the design used by the GEM consortium for their NationalExpert survey6 The unsatisfactory state of availability regarding gender disaggregated data in the fields of entrepreneurshipand other crucial aspects of social and economic inclusion was regularly highlighted in the internationaldiscussion of these issues in recent years (see e.g. Giovanelli/Gunnsteinsdotir/Me (2002))7 To develop a sustainable base for further work, the project aimed at including as many relevant indicators aspossible that could be tested for comparability in the scorecard. Further developments of the scorecard willfeature a reduction in the number of indicators, concentrating on indicators that can be consistently scoredover a wider range of countries.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 12

1.4 Gender and Equality Concepts and DefinitionsThis report uses a number of concepts to describe differences between women andmen and to describe programming approaches to inequality. Often these terms areused inaccurately in the equality discourse. The purpose of this section is to defineseveral of these concepts, many of which are used in this report.Gender - Gender is a concept that allows one to distinguish between sex, which is abiological condition, and the characteristics, attributes and roles assigned by society togirls and boys, men and women. These characteristics and roles are not innate. Theyare learned through both formal and informal education and through messages andimages presented in cultural traditions and celebrations, religion and the media. Rolesand attributes associated with men and women differ from one society to the next andevolve over time.Gender Roles refers to a set of behavioural norms associated with women or men in agiven social group, society or culture. Gender roles are divided into productive,reproductive and community management roles. The type and concentration of men’sand women’s activities in these three areas change from one society to another andevolve over time.Gender Relations refer to culturally and historically defined systems that regulateinteractions between women and men.Gender is an important concept because gender roles and gender relations directlyand indirectly influence the level of an individual’s ability to take decisions and to haveaccess to and control over resources. Gender roles and relations have a direct impacton vulnerability to poverty and exclusion.Gender Equality - This term refers to a belief in the basic equal rights andopportunities for members of both sexes within legal, social or corporateestablishments.Gender Mainstreaming - Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process ofassessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, includinglegislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy formaking the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part ofthe design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes inall political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally,and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achievegender equality. Mainstreaming includes gender-specific activities and affirmative(positive) action, whenever women or men are in a particularly disadvantageousposition.Gender Neutral - Gender neutral refers to designing policies and providing serviceswithout regard to the gender of those who participate. Where differences andinequalities exist, gender-neutral approaches can inadvertently entrench andperpetuate inequalities.Equal Opportunities – This is an approach intended to give equal access to anenvironment or benefits, often with emphasis on members of social groups, whichmight have at some time suffered from discrimination. Equal opportunities policies thatare gender neutral can inadvertently perpetuate inequalities.Affirmative Action - Also referred to as positive action or positive discrimination,Affirmative Action is an approach promoting the representation of groups who have© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 13

een traditionally discriminated against. The theory is that adoption of gender-neutralapproaches may not be sufficient because past discrimination limits access toeducation, job opportunities and other opportunities hence the ability to achieve basedupon merit. 82 General Country Information2.1 Key Data on economic and gender equality inGermanyThe following key data on economic and gender equality allow a quick overview of thesituation in Germany. The inequality in income distribution in Germany, measured bythe gini coefficient, is slightly lower than the EU-25 average (0.31). The most obviousgender gaps exist in the risk of poverty and the level of Entrepreneurial Activitymeasured by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Regarding genderempowerment in society and political representation, Germany ranks better thanaverage, but there is still potential for improvement.Table 1: Key Data GermanyGDP Growth 2006 2.8 %Gini Coefficient – measure of income inequality (Eurostat2005)0.28Unemployment rate women and men (Eurostat 2006; perMen: 7.7 %cent) Women: 9.2 %Risk of poverty of women and men (Eurostat 2003; per cent)Men: 12 %Women: 16 %Total Entrepreneurial Activity (GEM 2006; per cent) 4,21 %Total Entrepreneurial Activity of men and women (GEM 2006;per cent)Men: 5.79 %Women: 2.58 %Gender Empowerment Measure (UNDP 2006; rank) 9Women’s representation in national legislative bodies – upperand lower houses (Eurostat 2006; EU-25 rank)82.2 Evolution of female share in total self-employmentThe share of women in total employment has risen over recent years, up to 45 percent in 2005, but is still lower than the female share of the German population between8 Gender concepts and definitions adapted from Reeves, H. / Baden, S. (2000) and UN Economic; SocialCouncil (1997) in Encyclopedia Britannica.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 14

16 and 64 (49,6 per cent). For self-employment, this ‘gender gap’ is a lot more evident.For the first time, a female share of 30 per cent in total self-employment (withoutagricultural sector) was reached in the year 2003. Compared to the situation in 1983,when women accounted for merely 23 per cent of total self-employment (includingagricultural sector), the gender gap in self-employment has been reduced. Yet, thecurrent situation in Germany is still far away from gender equality in representation inentrepreneurshipFigure 2: Female share in total employment and self-employment (excluding agricultural activities)Germany5040per cent302010emplself-empl.01999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Year© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 15

3 Scorecard Results Germany3.1 Final ScoringFigure 3 presents the national Scorecard results for Germany. The radar diagramconsists of the six dimensions identified as key areas influencing gender equality inentrepreneurship. Each dimension received a scoring from 1 (lowest scoring possible)to 5 (highest scoring possible).Figure 3: National Scorecard Results for GermanyGender equality in access tofinanceGeneral national context forentrepreneurship543210Gender equality in societyGender equality in supportstructures for entrepreneurshipGender equality in labour marketinclusionGender equality inentrepreneurshipAs can be seen from Figure 3, Germany is not outperforming in any of the dimensionscorings. On average it receives a middle range scoring below 3. The dimensionGender equality in society receives the highest scoring of all dimensions, yet it is notstunning and only average compared to results of the other countries in the study. Thedimensions gender equality in labour market inclusion and gender equality inentrepreneurship score lowest, leaving lots of potential to improve the environment forwomen entrepreneurs.The following chapters will reveal in greater detail under what circumstances thedimension scorings materialized. Annexe 5.5 provides a list of all indicators and thecorresponding dimensions and subdimensions.3.2 Dimension A: General National Context ForEntrepreneurshipSCORE: 2.7Dimension A on the General National Context for Entrepreneurship varies from theother five dimensions, as it does not explicitly focus on gender aspects. Thisdimension assesses the general framework for entrepreneurship in a country. Themain reason for the inclusion of such a dimension was the consideration that only if thegeneral conditions are known can conclusions be drawn on gender specific issues.The score assigned to this dimension for Germany is 2.7. Compared to the other© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 16

countries in the study, this result is below average. It is based upon an assessment ofentrepreneurial opportunities, entrepreneurial abilities, enterprise culture, policyincentives for entrepreneurship, welfare bridge and access to finance.Entrepreneurial OpportunitiesThe general business conditions of a country influence the opportunities forentrepreneurship. In general, business conditions are good in Germany. AlthoughGDP growth has been below OECD average during recent years, the GDP per capitaand the net real income per capita are still well above OECD average. It can benoticed that the macroeconomic environment has improved in the last two years. Thishas led to a lot of optimism in the German economy. Yet this optimism has not beenreflected in an increased number of start-ups. 9Theoretically, it is possible to register a sole trader business in one day. But looking atstatistics, entry barriers for new enterprises are higher in Germany than the OECDaverage. On average, 24 days and 9 procedures were needed in 2006 to set up abusiness in Germany. This compares to the OECD average 10 of 16.6 days and 6.2procedures needed. These above average values for Germany are related toadministrative burdens for setting up small to medium enterprises. In addition, theGEM National Expert Survey identifies missing market opportunities and therefore highentry barriers in some markets in Germany. 11SCORE: 2.8The institute of the Germaneconomy (Institut der deutschenWirtschaft) operates the projectJUNIOR since 1994. It supportsentrepreneurial acting and thinking ofpupils.(www.juniorprojekt.de)Entrepreneurial AbilitiesThe public support structure for enterprise development in Germany is comparativelywell developed. The physical infrastructure is among the best in the world as the GEMstudies of recent years indicated. In 2006, the public support structure was rankedhighest in this comparable analysis among 37 countries. This strength of the Germanenvironment for entrepreneurial abilities is countered by manifest weaknesses inentrepreneurial education. Issues of entrepreneurship almost do not exist in primaryand secondary school practice and are not part of the educational curricula in theLänder. Only some regions have taken innovative measures in this regard. In higherleveleducation, such as universities and also vocational training schools, studentsbecome insufficiently prepared for future careers as entrepreneurs. 12 Some strategieson local development foster entrepreneurship. But this strongly depends on theregions and is not coherent countrywide, as interviewed experts have stated.SCORE: 3.3Enterprise CultureThe deficits in entrepreneurial education are strongly related to the underdevelopedentrepreneurial culture in Germany. In this subdimension Germany received thesecond lowest score in the study. The impact of risk avoidance behaviour onentrepreneurial activity is stronger than in other European countries. In 2005, aSCORE: 1.59 See Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), p.12f.10 Source: Worldbank (Doing Business database)11 Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), p. 23.12 Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), p. 29.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 17

Eurobarometer survey revealed that the fear of failure is, for 46,5 % of the activeGerman population (18 – 64 years old), a strong obstacle not to start up a business inthe first place 13 The chances of successfully starting up a business are assessed lowerthan in any other country. An early contact with issues related to self-employment suchas creativity and innovativeness is not fostered by the educational system as theexpert questionnaire has revealed. Entrepreneurial norms and values such asindependence and one’s own initiative are not widespread in the population. 14Policy Incentives for EntrepreneurshipThough administrative burdens for conducting a business activity are traditionally highin Germany, recent reform efforts have improved the situation. This has led to acomparatively high scoring of 3.0. Only UK and Belgium ranked higher in thissubdimension.The administrative requirements for running a medium-sized business in Germany arenow below average compared to other OECD countries. The World Bank DoingBusiness database for 2006 indicates that on average 133 days are needed and 11procedures have to be undertaken for dealing with licences throughout a year. (OECDaverage: 149 days and 14 procedures). The tax regulation is in line with the OECDaverage. Less time is needed (only 105 hours compared to 202.9 hours on OECDaverage) for tax regulation, but payment numbers (32 transactions) and the total taxrate as percentage of profits (57.1 %) are above the OECD average (15.3 transactionsand 47,8 %, respectively) 15 . According to GEM, the index value for regulations andtaxes has improved its rating since 2002. However, it still has the second-lowest ratingamong the 13 index values for Germany. 16Closing a business in 2006 needed less time in Germany (1.2 years) than on OECDaverage (1.4 years). However, with 8 % of income per capita, costs are higher than onOECD average (7 % of income per capita) and the recovery rate is lower with 53.1cents in the dollar (OECD average is 74 cents in the dollar). 17SCORE: 3.0In the electronic starter-center ofHamburg’s chamber of craft, all formsnecessary for starting a craftsbusiness are deposited. For filling outall necessary forms, data only need tobe filled in one Meta-form. The data aretransmitted automatically into all othernecessary forms. Afterwards they canbe printed out and sent directly to therelevant authority. This leads to asubstantial saving of time and asimplification of the bureaucraticformalities to start a crafts business.www.starter-center-hamburg.deThe issue of labour market flexibility is the subject of fierce discussions in Germany. Inparticular, the strict legal protection against dismissal for businesses with more than 10employees is regarded as a problem for small enterprises that want to grow. Also thecosts of dismissing an employee are relatively high: 69.3 weeks’ wages were theaverage costs in 2006. (OECD average: 31.3). So, compared to other OECD countriesthe regulations for hiring and firing employees are relatively strict in Germany 18 .Welfare BridgeIncome support programmes fostering self-employment out of unemployment, the socalledwelfare bridge programmes, exist in Germany since 1986. The first incomeSCORE: 3.213 Source: Flash Eurobarometer No. 160 (Question 12).14 Source: Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), p. 2915 Source: Worldbank (Doing Business Database)16 Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), pp. 22 – 24.17 Source: Worldbank (Doing Business Database)18 Source: Worldbank (Doing Business Database)© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 18

support programme was the so-called Überbrückungsgeld that allowed theunemployed to continue the receipt of unemployment benefits for the first six monthsof their self-employment. In 2003, another support scheme was introduced, theExistenzgründungszuschuss also called ‘Ich-AG’. It offered decreasing fixed supportpayments for up to three years. Both programmes were only available to registeredunemployed (beneficiaries of Arbeitslosengeld, later: Arbeitslosengeld I) reducing theoutreach to long-term unemployed and inactive persons. Both programmes were verysuccessful in terms of total numbers of start-ups supported, especially since theestablishment of the Ich-AG. However, their design was often criticised forineffectiveness and setting wrong incentives. The newly designed business start-upbenefit Gründungszuschuss replaced both schemes in July 2006. It aims at reducingcosts and minimising free-rider incentives. The Gründungszuschuss grants support forat least nine months and up to a maximum of 15 months. The stock ofGründungszuschuss recipients is quantified as a moving annual average (Feb. 2006 -Jan. 2007) of 98,842 female and of 105,617 male beneficiaries. First data publishedreveal that the reforms relating to ALG I and ALG II as well as the introduction of theGründungszuschuss have led to a remarkable reduction of support for selfemploymentout of unemployment during the last one and a half years.Another income support scheme in place is the Einstiegsgeld, which supports start-upsof welfare recipients (beneficiaries of Arbeitslosengeld II) up to 24 months. In contrastto the Gründungszuschuss, the granting of Einstiegsgeld is discretionary. Take updepends tremendously on the priorities set within the responsible authority. The stockof Einstiegsgeld recipients is quantified as a moving annual average (Feb. 2006 - Jan.2007) of 29,092 female and of 56,385 male beneficiaries.Unfortunately, experts noted that the attention given by job centres and responsibleauthorities to self-employment as an alternative to wage employment is still relativelylow for some target groups and in some regions.Income support programs have ledto high re-integration numbers ofunemployed and Gründungszuschussand Einstiegsgeld are still facing highresponse rates by unemployed. Theachievements of income supportprogrammes are obvious also inregards to the former support programIch-AG. The development of female selfemploymentdoes show more positivetrends than for men. In general, a catchup process takes places with highgrowth rates in full and part-time selfemploymentof women. Especially theIch-AG support scheme is regarded as asuccess for supporting female selfemployment.Inactive people and Social Welfare beneficiaries ("Sozialgeld"), who are formally notemployable, are not supported by any of these programmes.In 2006 a total of 201,690 persons registered as unemployed started anentrepreneurial activity in Germany. Compared to 2005, when 256,798 persons leftfrom unemployment into self-employment this represents a decline in absolutenumbers as well as in the share of total movement out of unemployment intoemployment (6,6% vs. 8,7%) 19 .Non-financial support measures i.e. training and business development services areavailable for people outside the labour market becoming self-employed. However,often these measures are only available in big cities and/or some regions, as expertsinterviewed during this study have stated.Access to FinanceThe access to finance for start-ups in Germany has worsened rapidly during recentyears. 20 In a recent Eurobarometer survey only 14 % of business managers stated thatSCORE: 2.519 Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit: Arbeitsmarkt in Zahlen 2006, p. 35.20 Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), p. 24.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 19

access to bank loans was easy for SMEs 21 . In particular, micro and small enterprisesface greater difficulties compared to medium-sized enterprises.Thanks to the well-developed public support structure, a wide range of products suchas public subsidies and subsidized loans are available from promotional banks. Thetake-up of these financing opportunities seems better compared to bank loans as 20 %of the business managers asked stated they were using or had used public subsidiesfor their business. 22 Nevertheless, access to those products can also be difficult,especially for micro and small enterprises, since the administrative procedures andapplication processes are often unnecessarily complex.The difficult access to bank loans affects the access to microfinance in Germany aswell, as the major microfinance products 23 of KfW (KfW MikroDarlehen, StartGeld) andother public promotional banks are mainly distributed via the local banks (the so-calledHausbankprinzip). A non-bank microfinance sector exists, but is not well developed.Here, a large number of individual programmes contrasts with the low outreach interms of microloans granted. 243.3 Dimension B: Gender Equality in SocietyThe Dimension Gender Equality in Society covers the general issue of political andsocietal gender empowerment in a country. The score assigned to this dimension forGermany is 3.3, an average result compared to the other countries in the study. It isbased upon an assessment of gender equality as a policy issue and socio-economicgender equality in society.SCORE: 3.3Gender Equality as a National Policy IssueData collected in this subdimension shows that gender equality as such is on thenational governmental agenda in Germany. It receives attention in different policyareas and is treated as a policy priority in the area of labour market policy. Forinstance, the issue of better reconciliation of family and work is high on thegovernment agenda. Gender Mainstreaming is seen as a role model for theimplementation of gender equality in organisational structures. The question is: howhigh is the degree of implementation and is it a story of success? Most of thesemeasures were implemented and evaluated positively by the parties concerned. Butthere are concerns about the impact of these measures. The measures on the nationallevel are hardly assessable because, according to the experts asked, these measuresconsist mostly of reorganizations of administrative structures and budgets.In general there are three ministries that deal with gender aspects. However, the linesbetween the ministries’ gender-specific tasks are often blurred. The Federal Ministryfor Women, Senior People, Family and Youth (BMFSFJ) supports measures fosteringsocietal change. In regard to women’s entrepreneurship, they support for instance21 Source: Flash Eurobarometer No. 174 (Question 14).22 Source: Flash Eurobarometer No. 174 (Question 4 h).SCORE: 3.0Lübecker Markt der Frauen: Anevaluation of Lübeck’s Marketrevealed, women own only 28 % ofmarket stands and areunderrepresented. The Reason is theprinciple of licensing: „known andreliable“, which is a high threshold forbusiness starters in the market. As aresult the market place for women inLübeck was founded, giving femalebusiness starters the possibility to getknown and proof their reliability inorder to receive licences in future.23 In terms of loans granted.24 see Evers/Lahn (2007).© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 20

networking initiatives. In addition, the ministry finances research projects on start-upsand entrepreneurship of women. The Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF)supports measures which orient women towards “new” employment fields, meaningmore technical and scientific fields. The ministry also finances gender specificresearch. The Ministry of Economy (BMWi) is in general responsible for SME support.Women start-ups and entrepreneurs have access to these SME support measures, butthe experts interviewed highlighted the fact that there do not exist any gender-specificprograms.On the local level, according to the experts asked, gender equality and especiallygender equality in entrepreneurship is not treated as a priority area in localdevelopment strategies. Yet, there are some interesting examples such as the marketplace for women in Lübeck ("Lübecker Markt der Frauen") and the girls-suitedplayground ("mädchengerechter Spielplatz") in Ulm. With the "Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaftder kommunalen Frauenbüros und Gleichstellungsstellen" (BAG) a nationwidenetwork of local equal opportunity commissioners exists that comprises 1,900 members.Since the resources available to these commissioners vary considerablybetween the different Länder, it is not possible to assess their general impact on thelocal development strategies in Germany.Mädchengerechter Spielplatz inUlm: A project in Ulm assessed thedifferent priorities of boys and girlstowards playgrounds. Based on thisintensive assessment, the city of Ulmestablished the first girls-suitedplayground in Germany.Socio-Economic Gender Equality in SocietyTo assess the socio-economic gender equality, the study looked at poverty risk andgender empowerment. For poverty risk Eurostat data were used and the differentialwas considered between the number of men and women at risk of poverty inGermany. The Eurostat data provide the share of persons with an equivalentdisposable income below the risk of poverty threshold. This threshold is set at 60 % ofthe national median equivalent disposable income after social transfers. The gendergap in risk of poverty after social transfers was especially high in 2003 (4 %). In 2005,it was lowered to 2 % in Germany. 14 % of the female adult population lived below thepoverty threshold versus 12 % of men. Lone parents in particular are affected bypoverty 25 .SCORE: 3.5For the Scorecard, the UNDP Human Development Report’s Gender EmpowermentMeasure was used to assess gender empowerment. This measure is a compositeindex assessing gender inequality in three basic dimensions of empowerment:economic participation and decision-making, political participation, and decisionmakingand power over economic resources. The Gender Empowerment Measure forGermany was 0.861 in the Human Development Report 2006. Germany ranks 21 stworldwide. This high rank suggests that gender empowerment in society is relativelyhigh. And it is true; there are rising numbers of women with academic education, andgrowing numbers of females in important positions. However, figures are still not closeto gender equality and given the fact that 12 countries out of the former EU 15 rankhigher than Germany, there is still potential for improvement 26 .Additional information on gender empowerment in society25 At risk of poverty rate after social transfers by gender. Source: Eurostat.26 Source: UNDP (Human Development Report 2006)© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 21

Additional data sources indicate that in Germany women are under-represented inleadership and decision making positions in government, legislative bodies andmanagerial positions. In the Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF)of 2006, the subindex Political Empowerment receives an overall scoring of 0.366(0.00 = inequality, 1.00 = equality) 27 . Yet, compared internationally, Germany stillreceives a high ranking of 5 out of 115 countries in this subindex. The main reason forthe low scoring in the WEF index is that there have not been many women in the mostpowerful positions of the state for very long. So far, the current chancellor AngelaMerkel is the first woman ever to be the head of state in Germany. A fairly smallgender gap of 0.86 exists for women in ministerial positions. As of July 2007, out of 15ministries, there are 5 female ministers (excluding the chancellor). Women inparliament and regional councils are still underrepresented. The politicalrepresentation of women in national and regional bodies is shown in the following twotables.Table 2: Political representation of women in national bodies 28Political BodyRepresentation of WomenNational government- Senior Ministers 38 %- Junior Ministers 67 %National government by BEIS-Type 29(only senior ministers)- Basic Functions 33 %- Economy 25 %- Infrastructure 0 %- Social-cultural functions 75 %National parliament 31 %Table 3: Political Representation of women in regional bodies 30Political BodyRepresentation of WomenRegional governments (average) 26 %Regional councils (average) 33 %27 The Gender Gap Index consists of four gender gap subindexes: Economic Participation and Opportunities,Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. Among these subindexes, PoliticalEmpowerment received the lowest scoring for Germany, see Lopez-Claros/Zahidi (2005).28 Source: Database on Women and Men in decision-making (EU).29 BEIS-typology: B = Basic functions, E = Economy, I = Infrastructure, S = Social-cultural functions.30 Source: Database on Women and Men in decision-making (EU)© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 22

Generally speaking, in Germany women are underrepresented in economic decisionmakingpositions. In 2003, there were 1.7 million women and 3.8 million menemployed in decision-making positions in the private sector and public services. Everythird person in such a position was a woman. 8.8 % of all people employed indecision-making positions are in charge of comprehensive leadership tasks. Fromthose, a woman held just every fourth position. The share of women in themanagement boards of private sector companies is marginal. It is interesting thatthere is no difference in the share of women and men in decision making positionsuntil the age of 29. However, in the next age group (30 to 44 years) there are only32.1 % of women in decision-making positions compared to 67.9 % of men. This lowshare of women in decision-making positions indicates that women at this age takeover family responsibilities and break into or even terminate their professional career,voluntarily or involuntarily.As Table 4 shows, male and female pupils and students attain education in Germanyequally. 31Table 4: Female-to-male ratio in Educational Attainment 32Literacy rate 1.00The Mestemacher Awardnominates the Woman Manager of theyear: Marina Sandrock, Managerin ofSara Lee Germany, was the laureate in2006Enrolment inprimary educationEnrolment insecondaryeducationEnrolment intertiary education1.000.981.00Although there are no gender-related differences among university graduates, gendergaps emerge in hierarchically higher academic positions. In 2003, the share of womenin conferrals of doctorates was 37.9 %, in academic staff 28.6 %, in postdoctorallecturer qualification 22 % and in professorships even below 20 %. 333.4 Dimension C: Gender Equality in Labour MarketInclusion and Welfare Bridges to Self-employmentSCORE: 2.3Dimension C covers aspects of the general integration of women into the labourmarket, including gender equality in participation in the labour market and the socialinfrastructure for gender equality in labour market inclusion. Additionally, a thirdsubdimension covers the gender equality in welfare bridges from unemployment andinactivity into self-employment. Germany received an overall score of 2.3 in thisdimension, the second lowest score of all countries in the study.31 In our opinion, the gap in secondary education can be neglected.32 Source: Global Gender Gap Report 2006 (Country sheet Germany)33 Bothfeld et.al. (2006), pp. 92-94.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 23

Gender Equality in Participation in the Labour marketSCORE: 2.0Women’s participation in the German labour market is far from being equal to that ofmen. The very low score of 2.0 for Germany underlines this fact. And compared to theother countries only Slovakia scored lower in this subdimension.Germany has an average female activity rate compared to other EU member states.OECD data show a female economic activity rate of 76 % of the male rate. 34 Thefemale participation rate in the labour market was at 67.4 % 35 , higher than the EU-15average of 63.5 % in 2005. It increased by almost 6 points during the last 10 years(1995: 61.5 %) 36 , but is still considerably lower than the levels reached in theScandinavian countries. Although the female employment rate in Germany is amongstthe highest in Europe, it masks the fact that the increase in female employment wentalong with an increase in part-time employment in general and in particular anincreasing number of women in part-time employment. 37 39.4 % of employed women(as compared to 7.4 % of men) work part-time in Germany. 38 There is a high gendergap in part-time work. Women account for 81.4 % of total part-time employment. 39 Thisis well above the EU-15 average (78.1 %). The picture gets even grimmer if oneconsiders that 6 % of all female employment (and 20% of all female part-timeemployment)is classified as involuntarily part-time employment, a share that is threetimes higher than that for men. 40The gender pay gap in Germany is still one of the highest across Europe. In 2005,women’s average gross hourly earnings were 22 % less than men’s. 41 Amongst thecountries participating in this project, only Slovakia had a greater pay gap. Accordingto the FrauenDatenReport 2005 of the Institute for Economic and Social Research(WSI), this gap can be partly explained by the different job and career opportunitiesopen to women in Germany. A significant element of it, however, is the result of wagediscrimination, particularly in Western Germany. 42Girls’ day: yearly introduction dayfor girls of the fifth to the tenth gradeby technical corporations, companieswith technical departments andapprenticeships, universities andresearch institutes. This day givesgirls the chance to get to know moreabout so-called "men-dominated"working areas and jobs. This measureshould attract the interest of girls forsuch working possibilities and shouldlead to an increase in women in suchareas in the long run. Boys are alsotaking part in this initiative; they getthe chance to know more about"female-dominated" working fields.http://www.girls-day.de/Social Infrastructure for Gender Equality in Labour MarketIn this subdimension, Germany received the second lowest score of all countries in theproject. Only Hungary scored lower for social infrastructure for gender equality in thelabour market. Regarding this, it is not surprising that Germany has one of the lowestbirth rates (1.34 births per women) in Western Europe. Parenthood, sharing ofSCORE: 1.634 Source: OECD (Gender, Institutions, and Development Data Base)35 Defined as female labour force of all ages divided by female population aged 15-64.36 Source: Eurostat37 In 1995, part-time employment in percentage to total employment was 14.2 compared to 21.8 % in 2005. Thepercentage of women in part-time employment rose by more than 10 % from 29.1 % in 1995 to 39.4 % in2005. Source: OECD.38 Source: OECD39 Part-time employment refers to persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week in their main job.Source: OECD.40 Source: Eurostat41 Source: Eurostat42 Bothfeld u.a. (2006), pp. 241 – 306.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 24

domestic and family responsibilities, childcare availability and affordability are factorsthat influence women’s employment rates markedly. In 2005, there was a 26.5 %negative labour market participation difference between women with children (age: 0-6years) and women without children in Germany. For men, the opposite is true. Therewas a 9 % positive labour market participation difference for men having childrencompared to those not having any children in 2005. Altogether, there exists a gendergap of 35.5 % in employment impact of parenthood. This gender gap has increasedsteadily during recent years. 43The Making Work Pay study conducted by the European Commission in 2005 definesfour aspects of childcare provision that determine whether it supports or acts as barrierto parents’ employment and subsequently to gender equality in labour marketinclusion. These are availability of services, the cost of services including any financialsupport provided, the compatibility between services and working hours, and thequality of care. 44The provision of childcare services for under-threes is 7 % for the whole of Germanyand can be considered as highly inadequate 45 . In West Germany, places are availablefor only 3 % of all children under three compared to 88 % of the 3 to 6-7-year-olds andfor only 5 % of schoolchildren up to 11 years old. Many parents are therefore forced touse private childcare for under-threes. Childcare services in East Germany are welldevelopedin comparison to West Germany. Despite a 50 % decrease in the number ofchildcare places, which correlates with the dramatic drop in birth rates after theunification in 1990, there are still places available for 37 % of the under-threes. Theavailable places for the 6-7-year-olds are, with 105 %, even above the number ofexisting children. The capacity for school children is approximately 41 %. The cost ofchildcare services depends upon the length of care, the income of parents and thenumber of children. In addition, there are variations between municipalities. Thissector is typically a women’s domain, 96 % of employees working in childcare arewomen. Their skill level is deemed to be relatively low and therefore they are oftenpaid poorly which, after the low level of availability, is one of the key problems 46 . Theexperts interviewed during this project underlined the fact that social services availableare insufficient for women to continue to work after they start a family.The current Minister for FamilyAffairs, Ursula von der Leyen, wants totriple childcare places for underthrees.The government decided toestablish 500,000 new places before2013.Additional information on maternity leave regulation and parent benefits inGermanyIn Germany, maternity leave is regulated by the so-called Mutterschutzgesetz(maternity leave law). A dismissal by the employer is not possible during the wholepregnancy period and until four months after the birth of the child. The maternity leavestarts six weeks before and lasts until eight weeks after the birth of the child, giving atotal of 14 weeks. Women are not allowed to work during this period. A problem is thatthis law does not affect the work of self-employed women.43 For comparison: the difference in the impact of parenthood on women’s and men’s employment rates were21.9 % and –7.6 % in 2001, giving a total gap of 29.5%. Source: Eurostat, EU Employment Indicator 18.8.44 Source: Fagan/Hebson (2006).45 Source for the following data: European Commission (2005), pp. 105f.46 Source: European Commission (2005), p. 110.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 25

On January 1 st , 2007, the Elterngeld (parent benefit) replaced the Erziehungsgeld(education benefit). The Elterngeld is a financial support, which parents can receivefor 12 to 14 months immediately after the birth of the child. The amount depends onthe previous net income of the applicant (this can be the mother or father) during thelast 12 months. For the self-employed, this calculation period can be longer. Theamount is 67 %, within a range of minimum 300 EUR and maximum 1,800 EURmonthly. The Elterngeld is paid for 12 months. Its payment can be prolonged by twomonths, the so-called partner months, if the second parent takes an additional parentalleave of at least 2 months. 47 Criticisms have been raised since the Elterngeld isdesigned to compensate payments related to the parent’s income and not like theprevious Erziehungsgeld, which was a flat social benefit payment related to the child.From this it follows that the Elterngeld led to a deterioration for the unemployed, lowincomeearners and students, since Erziehungsgeld was paid for two years (300 EURmonthly), compared to the one-year payment of the Elterngeld.Gender Equality in Welfare BridgeThe welfare bridge into self-employment is comparatively well developed in Germany(see Dimension A). But do men and women profit from it in equal ways?SCORE: 3.3Generally it is questionable that the design of the existing income support programmesin Germany, mentioned in chapter 3.2, is really apt to serve the needs of men andwomen alike. The experts interviewed highlighted that, if the preconditions for men andwomen were equal, men and women could access the support schemes in Germanyequally. However, it was pointed out for example, based on the experience thatwomen more often start their businesses out of inactivity without being entitled toreceive any unemployment benefits, that schemes that only provide support for peoplewho previously received unemployment benefits are ill-conceived. As a result,comparatively fewer women than men are expected to be able to benefit from theincome support programmes in Germany.The gender equality of benefit receipt is a crucial precondition for gender equality inaccess to the welfare bridge into self-employment. Since gender disaggregated dataon the shares of benefit receipt in the inactive population were not available forGermany, the focus was on unemployed persons.Eurostat data for Germany indicate comparatively high gaps between men and womenin the share of unemployed that are registered and actually receive unemploymentbenefits, with women being clearly underrepresented in the group of benefitrecipients 48 .National data indicate a different picture. Here, the gap between men and womenreceiving unemployment benefits is much lower or even reverse. In 2006, 40% of allregistered female unemployed received an unemployment benefit out of theunemployment insurance system (ALG I) vs. 34.4 % of all registered maleunemployed 49 . Since the benefit amount is related to a person’s income before theybecame unemployed, the income gap influences the payment of unemployment47 The parental leave of the second parent can be taken parallel to that of the first parent.48 Source: Eurostat49 Source Bundesagentur für Arbeit: Arbeitsmarkt in Zahlen 2006, p. 16.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 26

enefits. The average unemployment benefit payment for women was 66.2 % of thatfor men in 2004. This difference was lower in East Germany, where women received82.2 % of the male benefit level. 50 Registered unemployed that do not qualify forunemployment benefit as an insurance benefit (mostly due to long unemployment)receive a second kind of unemployed benefit, ALG II (former welfare benefit). They aredefined, as employable but do not fall under the national insurance scheme. In thisgroup, men are overrepresented (65.7% of all registered male unemployed, vs. 60% ofall registered female unemployed). 51These data have a major flaw as they capture only registered unemployed, the socalled“Stille Reserve”, the group of people that are not registered as unemployed butlooking for work, is not included. Here, women are suspected to be overrepresented inGermany 52 .The national data on self-employment out of registered unemployment shows no cleargender gaps for Germany. In 2006, out of all women re-entering the labour market, 6,4% became self-employed, compared to 6,7% for men. This holds true for unemployedreceiving benefits out of the insurance system (ALG-I) as well as for unemployedreceiving the former welfare benefit (ALG II). Self-employment out of economicinactivity on the other hand is more widespread in the female population than in themale population. A study of the ifm Mannheim calculated, on the basis of data from1999, that 23% of all self-employed women in Germany were not employed the yearbefore becoming self-employed vs. 11% of all self-employed men (see Table 7). Sincethe share of women and men starting out of unemployment is nearly equal, thedifference mainly stems from start-ups out of inactivity (13% women vs. 4% men) 53 . Itis therefore difficult to rate the actual gender equality in the income support schemes inGermany. In the past, the usage of income support schemes showed some differencesbetween men and women. An evaluation study of the Überbrückungsgeld andExistenzgründungszuschuss schemes highlighted that women were underrepresentedin the Überbrückungsgeld scheme and overrepresented in the schemeExistenzgründungszuschuss, which was due to its ”fixed sum” design especiallyadvantagous to founders with low unemployment benefit claims.3.5 Dimension D: Gender Equality in Entrepreneurshipand Self EmploymentSCORE: 2.3Dimension D covers gender equality relating to different aspects of entrepreneurship togive a more complete picture of the entrepreneurial activity of women and men in acountry than simply comparing their rates of self-employment. This dimensionassesses gender equality in self-employment, entrepreneurial characteristics andentrepreneurial culture. Germany received an overall scoring of 2.3 and ranks belowaverage compared to the other countries in the project.50 Source: Bothfeld et.al. (2006), p. 332.51 Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit: Arbeitsmarkt in Zahlen 2006, p.16.52 Source: Bothfeld et.al. (2006), p. 148.53 Source: Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), p. 42.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 27

Gender Equality in self-employmentWithin the EU 25, self-employment accounted for 16 % of total employment with 19 %of men being self-employed compared to 11 % of women. In Germany, the ratio ofself-employment to total employment is for women 7.6 % compared to 13,9% for men.This means almost twice as many men out of all men working are self-employedcompared to the same ratio for women. This indicates a bigger gender gap in selfemploymentthan the EU 25 average at lower overall self-employment rates. 54SCORE: 2.7It is interesting to consider entrepreneurial behaviour by characterizing entrepreneursdepending upon the stage they are at in the venture creation process. GEMdistinguishes two broad categories of entrepreneur - early stage and established -based upon the age of their businesses. With respect to early stage activity, the GEMsurvey of 2006 reveals that women in Germany are less inclined to start businessesthan men – and even more rarely than women in comparable countries. The totalearly-stage entrepreneurial activity rate that GEM calculated for Germany amounts to4.21 %. For women it is only 2.58 % and therefore less than half of the figure for men(5.79 %). Within this project, only France and Belgium exhibited lower early-stageentrepreneurship figures for women. The same holds true when looking at the share ofestablished business owners. Here again, only France and Belgium show lowerprevalence rates, this time for both sexes - men and women. In Germany, theprevalence rate for established business owners is 2.1 % for women compared to 3.92% for men. Yet, the gender gap for established business owners is lower than forearly-stage entrepreneurial activity. 55 A possible explanation for this discrepancy isgiven in the German GEM report 2003, focusing on start-ups of women, where hintsfor higher survival rates of women’s enterprises compared to men’s are presented. 56Gender Equality in Entrepreneurial CharacteristicsGermany received a scoring of 2.0 in this subdimension and ranks below averagecompared to the other countries in the project. This reflects on the differences betweenmale and female-led enterprises. Only Belgium received a lower scoring in thissubdimension. Entrepreneurial activities can be roughly classified into two primarymotivations: opportunity or necessity. 57 In Germany, as in most countries, opportunityentrepreneurship is the dominant motivation for most entrepreneurs. Yet, according tothe GEM survey from 2006, necessity entrepreneurship is much more prevalentamong women than men. The ratio of opportunity to necessity motivation in earlystageentrepreneurship is lower (1.28) amongst women than it is for men (1.78).SCORE: 2.0There are differences in the size of businesses in terms of numbers of employees andturnover according to gender. Concerning the average number of employees, womenledenterprises are distinctively smaller than men-led enterprises in Germany (women:7; men: 15). The average turnover of men-led enterprises is reported to be even seventimes higher and the average amount invested two times higher than of women-led54 Source: European Labour Force Survey; Eurostat55Source: Allen/Langowitz/Minniti (2007).56 Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), p. 3757Opportunity entrepreneurship refers to taking up a business because of an interesting opportunity, the desireto change direction or to work for oneself. Necessity entrepreneurship refers to starting a business becauseother employment opportunities do not exist.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 28

enterprises. 58 According to the bga 59 , a lot of these differences can be explained bythe fact that part-time self-employment and solo-entrepreneurship 60 are moreprevalent among women-led businesses. Part-time self-employment accounts for 62% of female start-ups (men: 48 %), and the share of solo-entrepreneurship is 67 % forwomen (men: 59 %). Eurostat data (2006) indicates an even high gender gap in theshare of solo-entrepreneurs in the service sector where self-employed womenaccounted for 66% of all women-led businesses (men: 52.7 %) 61 . In contrast to thefigures mentioned above, the KfW Gründungsmonitor 2005 argues that the size of astart-up is not influenced by gender. The fact that women start their businesses withfewer employees can be explained by lower opportunity costs for women starting abusiness, since their career chances as employees are also more limited compared tomen. According to their regression analysis, women start their businesses only withslightly fewer employees than men 62 .Gender Equality in Entrepreneurial CultureWith a scoring of 2.2, Germany ranks below average in this subdimension comparedto the other countries in the project. Only Belgium and Slovakia received a lowerscoring in this subdimension. For assessing gender equality in the entrepreneurialculture the study looked at the media representation of women’s entrepreneurship andthe societal recognition and acceptance of women’s self-employment in a country. InGermany, the media representation of women entrepreneurs is very low according toexperts interviewed. The media rather supports the picture of the traditional businessstarter, male and full-time. 63 In return, this limits the potential of female start-upsindirectly. 64SCORE: 2.2The Existenzielle is the onlynational magazine for femaleentrepreneurs. It reports on womenwho manage small or big enterprises.www.existenzielle.deWith respect to acceptance of female self-employment, the idea of women starting andrunning businesses became more accepted during the last decades. Yet, Germansociety is still marked through a rather traditional picture of gender roles, which is alsoreinforced through the media. In addition, experts interviewed for the study stated thatentrepreneurship plays an inferior role in school education and subsequently in thecareer choices of German youths in general. Regarding self-employment of women, itwas mentioned that it is often the only available alternative due to lack of employmentopportunities on the labour market, which also explains the higher share of necessityentrepreneurship amongst women.Additional InformationDifferences in profiles of women business owners compared to men can also beobserved in other areas than those mentioned above. Women start their businesses58 Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), pp.89-9359 Federal agency for women business creators60 Solo-entrepreneurs do not have any employees and do not work together with other entrepreneurs.61 Source: Eurostat.62 KfW Bankengruppe (Hrsg.) (2005), p. 33.63 Pesch (2005), p. 93.64 Welter (2004a), p.46.The German “Online Course forFemale Enterprise Starters” paysattention to particular challenges,difficulties and advantages ofenterprise start-ups of women.Especially for those women who havegraduated from university or a seniortechnical college. The course offersvia the Internet information and adviceindispensable for the preparation,realisation and consolidation of startupprojects. www.gruenderinnen.de© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 29

usually at a later age than men. As shown in Table 5, the majority of women start theirbusiness at age 35 and later, whereas more than 40 % of men start their businessbefore they turn 35.Table 5: Differentiation of entrepreneurs according to age and gender 65Age Female Male18 – 24 years 8.5 % 16.3 %25 – 34 years 20.3 % 24.1 %35 – 44 years 37.3 % 32.6 %45 – 54 years 27.1 % 17.0 %55 – 64 years 6.8 % 9.9 %In terms of educational attainment, no significant differences can be observed inGermany. Most of the entrepreneurs – male or female - have attained secondaryeducation. Only the share of men who have finished their studies (tertiary education) ishigher (12 %) compared to that of women (8.5 %). Different academic fields chosen bymen and women probably influence this, as indicated in Table 6. Men’s studies areconcentrated in scientific and engineering fields, whereas women prefer language andcultural studies. 66 Notable is the fact that, in the fields of studies women areunderrepresented in, the rate of self-employment is proportionally higher than in thefields of studies women are more often overrepresented in. Yet, on average, womenentrepreneurs are very qualified. 67Table 6: Gender breakdown in academic field of study, winter 2003/04 (in %) 68Field of StudyShares in fields ofstudyWomenMenLanguages and cultural studies 69.8 30.2Law, economics and socialsciences48.2 51.8Mathematics and sciences 36.3 63.7Engineering science 20.9 79.1Medicine 58.8 41.2Women’s enterprises in Germany are concentrated in the service sector and especiallyin personal services, such as health, wellness, education, retail and catering. Morethan half of women start their businesses in personal services compared to only a65 Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), p. 35.66 Bothfeld et.al. (2006), p. 92.67 Bundesweite Gründerinnenagentur (bga) (2007), p. 10.68 Bothfeld et.al. (2006), p. 92.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 30

quarter of men’s start-ups. In contrast, men’s enterprises dominate the business-tobusinessservices. Women’s enterprises concentrate more on local and regionalcustomers, which goes in line with the provision of personal services. Women expectlower growth rates and more often start their business part-time. 69Table 7 reveals differences between men’s and women’s previous activities.Table 7: Gender breakdown in previous activities to self-employment 70Previous Activities Women MenEmployment 69 80Unemployment 8 8Pupil / student / civil services 8 6Inactivity (i.e. Housewife /Househusband)13 4Others 2 1For both sexes, the majority of German entrepreneurs found their business out ofemployment, although the percentage of women is less than for men. There are nomajor gender differences for start-ups founded by the unemployed and students. Majordifferences emerge when looking at start-ups founded out of inactivity (see chapter3.4). This figure is more than three times higher for women than for men. From this itfollows that one third of women start from a position 71 , which indicates that the womenwere lacking recent work experience. 72 Another reason is that women are stillsignificantly more involved in childcare and taking parental leave. Self-employment isan option very often used by women to re-integrate into the labour market.Table 8 shows the different family situation of male and female entrepreneurs.Table 8: Gender breakdown of family situation of business founders, business owners and employees 73FamilysituationBusinessfounderBusiness ownerEmployeeWomen Single 25 20 19Single parent 7 5 6In partnership 36 44 41In partnershipwith child32 32 34Total 100 100 10069 Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), pp. 34-37.70 Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), p. 42.71 This includes previous activities of unemployment, student / pupils and inactivity.72 Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), p. 41.73 Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), p. 45.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 31

Men Single 22 17 20Single parent 1 1 1In partnership 45 43 41In partnershipwith child32 39 36Total 100 100 100The majority of women share their home with a partner. Yet, this share is only twothirds for female business founders and much smaller compared to three quarters forfemale business owners and employees. Looking at the family situations for men,more than three quarter of men live in a partnership almost regardless of theiremployment status. There is no significant difference observable concerning a childliving in a woman’s home. From this it seems that partnership has a stronger influenceon women’s entrepreneurship than a child. 743.6 Dimension E: Gender Equality in SupportStructures for EntrepreneurshipSCORE: 2.8In Germany, support structures for entrepreneurship emphasise delivering financialsupport. Chapter 3.7 will deal with financial support measures in greater detail.Dimension E assesses whether entrepreneurship promotion activities and localsupport measures aim for gender equality in entrepreneurship and how adequate theyare for bettering the situation in a country. Germany received a score of 2.8 in thisdimension, putting it in an average position compared to the other countries in theproject.Entrepreneurship promotion activitiesNo big discrepancies could be observed between the scoring of the countries in thisdimension. The range of scoring is from 2.0 (France) to 3.3 (UK; Belgium), Germanyranks with 2.9 at medium level.SCORE: 2.9The literature on female entrepreneurship has pointed out that the “women way ofentrepreneurship” 75 features specific characteristics. As a result there is an ongoingdebate to which degree specific support measures for women are needed to overcomethe specific problems women face as entrepreneurs 76 . A sole barrier-focussedapproach on fostering female entrepreneurship that concentrates on helping women intheir specific situation seems problematic, as it shifts the attention of policy makersaway from environmental constraints to the single women entrepreneur. Therefore74 Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), p. 45.75 Title of an EQUAL-project targeting on bundling resources and experts on female entrepreneurship inGermany (www.wwoe.org)76 see Welter (2002), p.13.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 32Käte Ahlmann Stiftung:Improvement of the equalopportunities of men and women indaily economic life, appointment ofmentors (successful femaleentrepreneurs) for entrepreneurs(female) in the business start-upphase, objective: construction andmaintenance of a national network ofsuch mentors and mentees --> TWINMentoringprogramm - Two WomenWin. Founded and organised by theVdU e.V. -Verband deutscherUnternehmerinnen e.V.http://www.kaete-ahlmann-stiftung.de

most experts agree on the importance of overcoming the gender bias in mainstreamsupport and promotional programmes.According to the experts interviewed for this study (see annexe for details), theconsideration of specific needs of women and men is not very widespread in thedesign of mainstream promotional activities for fostering entrepreneurship in Germany.The situation was rated slightly better regarding specific promotional activities aimed atwomen, although the number of programmes is not sufficient yet and needs to beenlarged. Here a difference between East and West can be observed. Specificpromotion and support programmes for women are more widespread in the “old”Länder than in the former GDR Länder, reflecting a different kind of problemawareness and different levels in the social infrastructure for female self-employment.In general, specific activities targeting the needs of female entrepreneurs in Germanyare dependent on the agenda of the regional government, resulting in different regionaldevelopments across the country 77 . Systematic and regular research activities ongender aspects of entrepreneurship do exist in Germany, though experts are criticalthat statistics on gender aspects and gender disaggregated data are only available ona limited scale and not covering all relevant aspects. There are some examples of theuse of gender research results to improve policy measures and the practice of thesupport structures for entrepreneurship in Germany, as in the case of supportingbusiness takeovers by women 78 , but this is still the exception. In general, genderequality is not established in all areas as a cross-sectional topic. As the expertshighlighted, there exist considerable differences in emphases and resources allocatedthroughout the German Bundesländer.Local support measuresIn this subdimension, the range of scores among the countries in the project is not verywide. The lowest scoring received was France with 2.3 and the highest Belgium with3.3. In this respect, the German score is at the medium to lower level in this range.On the local level, the design of many business development activities is fairly ignorantof the specific needs of men and women. In the public sector this is slowly improving,but in the private sector these issues play a very inferior role. Most of the programmescan be considered as gender-biased and still targeting the archetypes of the full-timemale entrepreneur. The experts interviewed highlighted that the ongoing spread offemale consultants and advisors in these programmes did not change this situation.Specialised business development services for women are therefore still needed tofoster gender equality in entrepreneurship. On the other hand, self-help initiatives andinitiatives of local networking of female entrepreneurs have developed in recent times.The Federal agency for women business creators (bga) has listed over 250 local andregional networks in their online database. However these initiatives are stillunderdeveloped in regions outside the big cities and the economic centres.SCORE: 2.6The Federal agency for womenbusiness creators (“bundesweitegründerinnenagentur” – bga) wasestablished in 2003 as a centralplatform for women entrepreneurs andwomen in business. The agency poolsand networks all activities relating towomen entrepreneurs in Germany. Itprovides the contact data,performance profiles and contacts ofhundreds of advisory agencies,experts, networks and eventsAdditional Information on support and advisory measures in Germanythroughout Germany.www.gruenderinnenagentur.de77 Source: Expert interviews.78 The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth supported an initiative of thesmall and medium-sized industry for the transfer of businesses by women..© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 33

Concerning non-financial support measures, the general business supportinfrastructure has improved over the last years. Nowadays there exists a good supportinfrastructure for entrepreneurship all over the country. The range of supportmeasures offered is very wide. Innovative approaches have been promoted as regardsthe support of women entrepreneurs. These include a shift towards more integratingmethodologies such as coaching and mentoring, which provide accompanied businessdevelopment services. Other innovative examples are women-specific businesscentres such as WeiberWirtschaft in Berlin, which links business development serviceswith the provision of premises.A study on women-specific advisory institutions for start-ups identified about 320institutions which provided women-specific business development services on a localor regional level. The number of institutions and the area covered vary widely in theLänder. About half of the institutions direct their services only to women. The majorityuses a holistic approach in their work. Policy advice to business start-ups accountsonly for one part of their services provided. On average 200 consultations took placeper institution per year. 42 % of the women consulted have started-up an enterprise. 79In contrast, the institutional setting is problematical in Germany. In general, it is verycomplex and often not transparent. Women are underrepresented in traditionalbusiness development institutions, such as chambers and associations. 80WeiberWirtschaft Berlin wasfounded in 1987. Today, thecooperative is owned by more than1600 women. This trade centre forwomen’s enterprises in the heart ofBerlin accommodates nearly 60companies from service andproduction, a kindergarten, aconference area, catering services andartists studios. Leases are locked withenterprises, whose management andcapital lie in the hands of women.www.weiberwirtschaft.deNevertheless, specific support measures to female entrepreneurs are being phasedout in Germany. The reasons behind this are that entrepreneurs regardless of genderface general problems and fewer gender-specific problems during their start-upprocess. Therefore, gender-specific issues are more and more integrated intotraditional business support measures. 813.7 Dimension F: Gender Equality in Access toFinanceSCORE: 2.4This dimension assesses the degree of gender equality in access to finance forentrepreneurship looking at financial resources used to start a business, access toexternal finance and access to microcredit. The assessment of the gender gaps in theaccess and use of financial products is done in relation to the share of women in theself-employed population in Germany (32,3% in 2005).This measure is imperfect because it builds in an “acceptance” of the significant gapbetween male and female start-ups and business ownership. In using this comparativemeasure, the report does not intend to condone the basic gender gap between womenand men in entrepreneurship. However, it was not possible to find a better measurefor assessing the financing gap. Therefore, the score must be interpreted bearing thisin mind. Germany was rated with 2.7 in this dimension, a weak score compared to theother countries in the project for which data was available. 82 .Financial ResourcesSCORE: 2.079Buschmann/Bonacker/Caspari (2002), pp. 103 – 109.80 Welter (2004b), pp. 193 – 208.81 Welter/Lageman/Stoytcheva (2002), pp. 65 - 72.82 Since the project encountered serious data collection problems in this dimension (see chapter 1.3.), thecomparability to the other countries is limited.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 34

Germany ranks with 2.0 relatively low in this subdimension, however this is in line withthe very low scores received by the other countries of this study.In Germany, both women and men tend to start their businesses with very fewresources (in terms of financing and tangible assets). 9.9 % of all start-ups have noresources’ demand and 37.7 % only need tangible assets, such as premises,computers or cars. About 40 % of start-ups have a resources’ demand of 5,000 EURor less. The low resources’ demand of the majority of starters is in line with high shareof projects reported (44.4 %) which start without any sort of external finance. 83However, there is a gender gap in businesses started with own funds. According tothe GEM report from 2003 84 , more female nascent entrepreneurs 85 (at least 39 %)planned to start a business without any external resources compared to men (at least28 %). 86In addition, women on average need less financial resources than men. As shown inTable 9, 41.1 % of female nascent entrepreneurs planned to use less than 10,000EUR and 79.5 % less than 50,000 EUR compared to 16.4 % and 46.8 % of malenascent entrepreneurs, respectively. The median capital need for women is about10,000 EUR, for men it is 50,000 EUR.Table 9: Financial demand of potential start-ups according to Gender, 2003 (in %) 87EUR Women Men< 10,000 41.1 16.410,000 to 50,000 38.4 30.450,000 to 200,000 12.9 33.6> 200,000 7.7 19.6Total 100.1 100.0Women also seem to have less own funds at their disposal. As Table 10 shows, themajority of women (54 %) start their business with less than 10,000 EUR of own funds(men: 21.3 %). 35.1 % of female nascent entrepreneurs use equity capital in themiddle range from 10,000 to 50,000 EUR (men: 48.3 %). Only 10.8 % of womenstarting a business create a business with more than 50,000 EUR own funds (men:30.4 %).Table 10: Own capital used for planned start up according to Gender, 2003 (in %) 88EUR Women Men83 KfW Bankengruppe (Hrsg.) (2007), p. 57.84 Please note, comparisons between GEM-data and KfW-Gründungsmonitor-data is limited, as they look atdifferent target groups.85 The term nascent entrepreneur is coined on persons involved in some sort of start-up activity or planning.86 The figures were calculated as the missing difference to one hundred of people answering the question, ifthey have used banks loans and/or informal capital. In Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), p. 41.87 Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), p. 4088 Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), p. 41© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 35

10,000 54.0 21.310,000 to 50,000 35.1 48.3> 50,000 10.8 30.4Total 99.9 100.0In conclusion, it can be stated that, on average, female entrepreneurs have lowercapital needs and use less own financial start-up resources than their malecounterparts in Germany. Taken together, this does not necessarily indicate afinancing problem for female start-ups, if the lower personal financial resourcescorrespond to lower capital needs 89 .In this regard two aspects seem to be important. Since the capital needs of femalestart-ups is much lower than of male start-ups, the absolute amount of the externalfinance needed often lays below the efficiency thresholds of bank financing 90 , makingit difficult to cover these needs with bank loans. On the other hand the available datado not allow statements about the size of the gender gap in the relative need forexternal finance. Detailed data from individual programmes, like the “Münchenfonds” apublic loan scheme for start ups in Munich, reveal that the gender gap regarding theavailability of own funds is much higher than the gap in total capital needs 91 . Thiswould indicate a higher relative need for external finance for women.External FinanceThis sub-dimension looked at gender equality in access to bank loans and in access tomainstream public loan schemes. Compared to the other countries participating,Germany received a medium score.SCORE: 3.0With respect to bank lending, no information was available on the websites of banks,associations of banks and the national central bank. According to the GEM Report2003, 30.8 % of female nascent entrepreneurs received or will receive bank loanscompared to 50.4 % of male nascent entrepreneurs. Yet, this does not necessarilyreveal a gender gap, as more female nascent entrepreneurs plan to start theirbusinesses with own resources only or with informal capital from family and friends(women: 30.2 %; men: 21.7%). 92 The ifm Mannheim 93 found no evidence for89 The connection between lower capital needs and the availability of personal financial resources of femaleentrepreneurs is difficult to evaluate, since the direction of the relationship cannot be specified easily. On theone hand it seems possible that the capital needs of female start-ups are involuntarily low because womencreate smaller businesses with lower capital needs because of a smaller availability of own funds (seeLauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005), p. 52). Other interpretations highlight that women tend to create businessesfor other purposes than men, e.g. for sideline employment and solo-entrepreneurship and in different sectorsand therefore feature a lower average capital need (see Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit (ed.)(2003), p. 89f).90 This threshold is formed by the relation of the fixed costs of handling a loan and interest rate revenues,making start-up financing below 30.000 EUR not attractive to banks (see Beck/de la Torre, Augusto (2007)).91 See Zebisch/Fröhlich (2006), p. 58.92 Sternberg/Bergmann/Lückgen (2004), pp. 40 – 14.93 Lauxen-Ulbrich/Leicht (2005)© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 36

inequality between men and women related to their access to external funds. No hintsof discrimination through credit institutes, banks, etc were found. Nevertheless womenmake fewer credit applications than men and experts report a difficult situation forwomen in Germany when they try to access bank finance. The reasons for thissituation that were brought up in the expert interviews were smaller loan amountscompared to men 94 and the mismatch between the characteristics of femaleentrepreneurs and bank officials that are looking for entrepreneurial characteristics thatare clearly male-dominated.Latest available data on the share of female entrepreneurs accessing public financialsupport is from 2001. It reveals a declining share of female entrepreneurs in themainstream programmes 95 with female participation rates of about 20 %. The femaletake-up rates are up to 10 % lower than their share in entrepreneurship. 96 These lowfemale participation rates appear to indicate a restricted access to financial support inthe classical mass programmes. Looking at the programme design, it becomesobvious that they are focussed on male-dominated criteria (i.e. full-time selfemploymentin the productive sector) and not suitable for female entrepreneurs, thusimplicitly restricting the access of female entrepreneurs. Programmes directed towardsfemale entrepreneurs have to take into account the on-average smaller businesssizes, lower credit needs, fewer guarantees and higher need for working capital ofwomen’s businesses. 97 Though, the share of women tends to increase forprogrammes which are directed to start-ups with lower capital demands. For instance,programmes like the StartGeld 98 and Mikrodarlehen 99 of the KfW seem to be bettersuited to women entrepreneurs’ financial needs. Women are overrepresented in bothprogrammes. This is in line with their on-average lower financing demand.In the program “Gründungs- undWachstumsfinanzierung” of theNRW.Bank (the public developmentbank of North Rhine-Westphalia)women in the process of starting abusiness can obtain an additionalreduction of the interest rate from thegovernment of North Rhine-Westphalia.http://www.nrwbank.deAccess to microfinanceAccess to microfinance is restricted for women in Germany. At least, that’s what thescoring implies. Only Norway and Germany rank 2.3 which is the lowest scoring in thissubdimension.SCORE: 2.3This sub-dimension looks at gender equality in the access to microcredit in a country,the impact of the microcredit sector and whether there are microcredit schemes inplace that target gender-specific needs.Regarding the demand side, there seems to be no gender gap in the need formicroloans in Germany. Kritikos/Kneiding report that gender did not affect the request94 Banks are more reluctant to grant smaller loan amounts because fixed cost do not diminish with loweramounts of credit, leaving less return on investment for banks (see Beck/de la Torre, Augusto (2007)).95 ERP, EKH, GuW96 Pesch (2005), pp. 91-94.97 Welter (2002), pp. 10-12.98 The KfW Startgeld is a loan scheme targeting SMEs with loan sizes up to 50,000 EUR. The loans arehandled (application, disbursement) by the local banks, that receive a handling fee from the KfW, for detailssee http://www.kfwmittelstandsbank.de/EN_Home/Loans/The_individual_loan_programmes/StartGeld/index.jsp99 The KfW Mikrodarlehen is the main microfinance scheme of the KfW for loans up to 25,000 EUR. Theallocation process is identical to that of the KfW Startgeld, for details see http://www.kfwmittelstandsbank.de/EN_Home/Loans/The_individual_loan_programmes/Micro_loans/index.jsp© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 37

for a microloan significantly in their panel of entrepreneurs. 100 Nevertheless the resultsin the other dimensions of this study showed that, in Germany, women areoverrepresented in the main target groups for inclusion lending, e.g. loans for startingout of unemployment. The interim report of the local microloan program of the city ofHamburg that is exclusively available to unemployed people supports this assumption.It reports a share of 41 % female applicants in the first two years of its operations,nearly 10 % above the share of women in the self-employed population.To assess gender equality in the access to microcredit, the study used the figures ofthe KfW-MikroDarlehen. It is the biggest (in terms of numbers) and the only nationalprogramme providing loan amounts of up to 25,000 EUR 101 in Germany. Yet, thisprogramme does not qualify as a genuine microcredit programme, because it is amicro-enterprise lending programme and channelled through banks by only providingan 80 % loan guarantee and a greater margin for banks. The KfW MikroDarlehen hada share of 35.7 % female clients in 2006, which is 3.5 % higher than the share ofwomen in total self-employment (2005) 102 . The non-bank microfinance sector is notwell developed in Germany. A large number of individual programmes contrasts withthe low outreach in terms of microloans granted. 103 Gender-aggregated data was notavailable for those individual programmes. In general the German microcredit sector ischaracterised by micro-enterprise lending mostly with a regional promotional bank asprovider and small programmes engaged in inclusion lending.There exists no national microfinance scheme targeting gender-specific needs, andmicrofinance programmes targeting women are not widespread. There are a few local(non-governmental) initiatives such as Goldrausch in Berlin and Gründerinnen Consultin Hannover. Yet, these institutions have not disbursed significant numbers of loans. 104In the view of the overrepresentation of women in socially-excluded groups like singleparents at the risk of poverty and the high number of female start-ups out of economicinactivity, female entrepreneurs can be considered as a key target group formicrolenders in Germany. Since their financial needs are mainly below 25,000 EUR itseems quite natural that German microcredit providers should concentrate ondelivering micro-loans to female start-ups. Based on the available data and the expertopinions, it can be concluded that this seems not to be the case, at least not in anadequate amount.A recent study of the microcredit sector in Germany observed that the providers ofmicrolending could be divided according to their services into providers of inclusionlending and providers of micro-enterprise lending. 105 Inclusion lending calls fordistinctly more intensive advisory and support services and is provided mainly by start-100 Kritikos/Kneiding/Germelmann (2006)The Goldrausch-Frauennetzwerkwas established in 1982. It offersinterest-free loans and grants tofemale entrepreneurs, who have noaccess to other financingopportunities. It does not providedirect consulting services, butmediation to appropriate institutionsand bodies.www.goldrausch-frauennetzwerk.deHamburg’s Ministry of Economyand Employment has run since 2002its micro-loan program for start-upsout of unemployment. This programmeis typical for inclusion lending as itincludes pre- and post-loan adviceservices in addition to the microloan.Women account for about 41 % of theapproved applications.101 According to the EU, microloans are defined as loans of up to 25,000 EUR.102 Source: Eurostat103 Evers/Lahn (2007).104 Goldrausch has disbursed on average 3 loans per year since 2001. Gründerinnen Consult only started itsmicrolending activities without any loan disbursal in 2006.105 Inclusion lending targets the re-inclusion of financially and socially marginalised groups such as migrantsand long-term unemployed persons, the so-called non-bankables. Inclusion lending is distinguished frommicro-enterprise lending, which looks to bankables and nearly bankables as target groups, namelytraditional start-ups and small businesses already established on the market.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 38

up centres and/or public authorities other than public banks (i.e. ARGEs 106 ), like theloan programme of the city of Hamburg or the ProGES programme of the city ofKassel. Here, a potential can be identified for fostering female entrepreneurship on abroad scale with support/finance packages.106 ARGEs are joint ventures between social services and municipal authorities.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 39

4 Conclusions and Recommendations4.1 ConclusionsThe general environment for entrepreneurial activity in Germany is at best averagewhen compared to other European countries. Other international studies like GEM orcomparative work done by the Worldbank and the OECD share this finding of thereport. But things are moving, as the issue of entrepreneurship has received moreattention at national and regional levels in recent years. The improvement in loweringthe administrative burdens for starting a business and the continuous experimentationwith welfare bridge policies illustrate this trend.As the issue of female entrepreneurship is strongly connected with the more generalissue of labour market inclusion of women, the observable East-West divide in thesupport structures for female entrepreneurship is rooted in the different traditions insupporting female employment. Since the economic participation rates of men andwomen were nearly equal in East Germany before 1989, and are still higher than in theWestern part, support structures for female labour market participation were notnecessary and respectively have not been developed in a wide range so far. In theWestern part, these structures have a longer tradition and therefore are moredeveloped.On the national level, the EU-activities on gender equality in the labour market havenoticeably fuelled the activity of German policy-makers. In particular, the conditions fora better reconciliation between work and family duties have recently been discussed inpublic. As several European reports have pointed out, the childcare facilities for youngchildren are not available at a reasonable level in Germany especially in the WesternLänder. For families where one or both parents are business owners, the situation iseven worse.According to surveys and available data, access to sufficient finance is a growingproblem for entrepreneurs in Germany 107 . Especially banks are reported to be morereluctant in lending to start-ups and small enterprises. Actual data indicate that most ofthe start-ups and new businesses in Germany are undercapitalised or voluntarily startwithout external finance 108 .Data on the existence and dimensions of specific barriers for women in access to bankfinance are scarce and mostly not available. Available reports that indicate barriersconnected with problems in communication with (mostly male) bank officials, the lackof assets and the choice of business sector, are mostly based on rather anecdotalaccounts 109 . The question of women and access to bank finance therefore clearlyneeds further study.The study revealed that there is a strong case in Germany for fostering strategic policyoptions on gender equality in entrepreneurship at all levels: government, financial107 See e.g. Sternberg/Brixy/Hundt (2007), DIW Berlin (2005)108 KfW Bankengruppe (ed.) (2007), p. 60f.109 The available survey data on these issues are dated and indicate no severe differences between womenand men in accessing external finance, see Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit (ed.) (2003), pp128f.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 40

service providers and business support organisations, to promote femaleentrepreneurship and to raise the share of 7,6% self-employment in total femaleemployment at least to the male share of 14%. Since female entrepreneurs displayvery distinctive characteristics, a “one size fits all” strategy does not seem capable ofchanging this situation.Recommendations should be based on the experiences in other countries with similarproblems. The approach of the project should help in this task. The following overviewgraph shows that Germany did not receive a high score compared to the othercountries for any dimension surveyed in the study.Figure 4: Dimensional scores: Germany vs. High RanksGender equality inaccess to financeGender equality insupport structures forentrepreneurshipGeneral national contextfor entrepreneurship543210Gender equality inentrepreneurshipHigh RanksGermanyGender equality insocietyGender equality inlabour market inclusionA thorough comparison between the countries is made in more detail in the Europeanhandbook, but regarding Germany’s performance some observations are essential:The general national context for entrepreneurship in Germany scores lower than inhigh-ranking countries like the UK and Belgium. In particular, the subdimensionsenterprise culture and access to finance received markedly lower ratings than thesecountries. High levels of risk avoidance, lack of spread of entrepreneurial norms andvalues on the one hand and lack of access to bank finance on the other hand acted asthe main causes for this picture.For the dimension “Gender equality in the society” Germany receives its highestdimensional score, but still ranks behind countries like Belgium, where the issue ofgender equality and especially the issue of gender equality in local development aremore visible on national and regional/local agendas and the risk of poverty is moreevenly distributed between the genders.Comparably low scores can be observed in the dimension “Gender equality in labourmarket inclusion”. Here the social infrastructure for labour inclusion of women falls waybehind most of the other countries in the project, especially France and Belgium. Butalso the high pay gap and gender gaps in the receiving of unemployment benefitslower the score for Germany in this dimension.Regarding Gender equality in entrepreneurship, the German situation features highergender gaps than in most of the other countries. Compared to their male counterparts,female entrepreneurs in Germany are more often solo entrepreneurs andentrepreneurs out of necessity than in countries like Spain. Also, the already weakly© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 41

developed entrepreneurial culture in Germany is not supportive of femaleentrepreneurship. The experts asked complained of a lack of visible entrepreneurialrole models for women.The support structures for entrepreneurship are well-developed in Germany. However,the gender bias in the mainstream programmes seems to be strong and the specificneeds of men and women not very relevant to their design. Therefore the scores forGermany are only average in this dimension compared to the other countries.Germany didn’t perform well regarding gender equality in access to finance. Theavailability of personal finance resources and the access to microfinance, both crucialaspects for starting a small enterprise, are especially underdeveloped for women inGermany. Countries like the UK, France or Belgium feature more favourableconditions in this respect.Regarding the overall situation in gender equality in entrepreneurship and localdevelopment, the following recommendations for stakeholders are based on thescorecard results and focus on those subdimensions in which the scores for Germanyare especially low.4.2 RecommendationsGovernment/policy makersFrom a policy perspective, it may be argued that before selecting and activating policyinstruments for fostering gender equality in entrepreneurship, governments shouldhave a clear idea of what they want to accomplish: stimulate the absolute number offemale entrepreneurs or stimulate the female share in total entrepreneurship (in otherwords: the diversity of entrepreneurship)? Studies 110 indicate that different factors maybe involved, given the specific goal. For Germany, the goal of raising the total numberof entrepreneurs is still an important one. Therefore, entrepreneurship policies thattarget factors important to male as well as female entrepreneurship should becontinued and extended.To raise the female share in entrepreneurship, policies should focus on factors that arereported to have a relatively stronger impact on female than on male entrepreneurship.In this context, it seems important to aim for a higher general level of life satisfaction ofwomen in Germany. This could be reached by creating better conditions for thereconciliation of family and work (e.g. better child care facilities), fostering gendermainstreaming in society and the labour market and implementing policy interventionsfor more gender equality in wages.Since the general support structures for entrepreneurship are well developed inGermany, the lack of consideration of specific gender needs in the design of mostsupport programmes clearly is a missed opportunity to raise the level ofentrepreneurship in both the male and the female population in Germany. With regardto the specific needs of female entrepreneurs, the fostering of networks betweenpotential entrepreneurs and successful women in business should be intensified.110 e.g. Verheul/van Stel/Thurik (2005)© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 42

Germany has a positive experience with increasing start-up rates through welfarebridges. 13 % of women start their businesses out of inactivity compared to 4 % ofmen. This is often in connection with a previous parental leave as self-employment isfor many the only option for re-entering the labour market. People starting their selfemploymentout of inactivity are not entitled to receive any type of welfare bridgesupport. The welfare bridges and business development support should be enlargedto target the group of people becoming self-employed out of inactivity, i.e. afterparental leave.In Germany, it is still hard to combine family life with a business career for women.Working biographies of women are still strongly influenced by their family situation.This issue is currently high on the government’s agenda, but the pace of policydevelopment is still slow. It seems questionable whether the traditional German focuson monetary compensation sets the right incentives. In particular, the comparison withother European countries shows greater success rates where “in kind” support such aschildcare services are offered. Another option would be to set monetary incentives forchildcare service providers i.e. for the establishment of a nationwide infrastructure.Also, it should be highlighted that more systematic data collection is of vital importancefor a better understanding of the role of female entrepreneurship in the economicprocess and of the relationships between entrepreneurship and other factors. Furthercooperation by the German statistical bodies with other countries in producingcomparable data sets on the number and share of female entrepreneurs and theircharacteristics would help to produce further insights on how to design evidencebasedpolicy interventions for fostering gender equality in entrepreneurship inGermany.Business development services and their providers often do not take into account thespecific needs of gender. Quality standards for institutions providing businessdevelopment services will improve the consideration of gender needs in deliveringsuch services. In this respect, a starting point could be the quality standards for targetgroupspecific business support services developed within an Equal project last year(www.dgf-qualitaet.de). Policy makers can give financial incentives to develop qualitystandards. As regards content, practitioners have to take the lead in development andimplementation.PractitionersThe development and implementation of quality standards will be an important step onthe way to gender equality in entrepreneurship. Nowadays, gender mainstreaming isoften not taken seriously, but is rather a phrase used to receive funding. Practitionersshould see that advisors’ positions are equally distributed among men and women.The content of programmes, training and courses needs to be adapted to differentgender needs.Recent efforts like the girls-day and the establishment of a newspaper for womenentrepreneurs have been made and have increased awareness of women in Germanbusiness life. However, there is still a large gap in gender role models. In this respect,the media play a crucial role. Practitioners should push press reports on businesswomento encourage more potential women entrepreneurs.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 43

Finance and Funding ProvidersDuring the course of the study, it was not possible to access any statistical data frombanks about the gender-specific distribution of their clients. Also, the nationalpromotional bank KfW does not collect gender-aggregated data on a regular base.This is very unfortunate, especially since it contrasts with the praxis of one of its twopredecessors, the Deutsche Ausgleichsbank (DtA), which used to collect genderaggregateddata. On a smaller scale, this fact applies also to microfinance institutions.Previous studies on the German microfinance sector have often neglected the issue ofgender-specific data collection. The collection and publication of gender-specific data,however, are essential to better adjust programmes to the financing needs of women.The design of financial support measures needs to take into account gender-specificneeds. As the study revealed, women on average start their businesses more often ona part-time basis in the services sector, and with a greater demand for working capital.Programmes directed towards female entrepreneurs have to take into account the onaveragesmaller business size, lower credit needs, fewer guarantees and higher needfor working capital of women’s businesses. The overrepresentation of women inprogrammes which are more open to these criteria, such as KfW StartGeld andMikroDarlehen, demonstrate this.ResearchersIn general, there is a need for further research on female entrepreneurship inGermany. The existing work done by ifm Mannheim, IfM Bonn and other researchbodies is promising but needs to be channelled into a more systematic researchstrategy to gain political impact. The national agency for women’s start-up activitiesand services (bga) could serve as a national hub for such a strategy.More systematic research on women entrepreneurs' needs for finance will help toproduce insights on some crucial questions such as “do women start a business withfewer financial resources because their financial resources are scarce or because theirfinancing demands are on average lower than the needs of men?”. This is in line withmore research on women entrepreneurs’ access to finance and especially bankfinance. So far, there is clearly a lack of consistent research in this area.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 44

5 Annex5.1 Experts InterviewedThe Expert interviews were conducted between April 23 rd and May 11th in a twofoldprocess. In a first step, two questionnaires were sent to a list of experts, coveringacademics, practitioners and representatives from public authorities, all with arenowned expertise in the area of gender equality in entrepreneurship andmicrofinance. Some of the experts who sent back the questionnaire were contacted formore detailed and qualitative information on issues covered by the scorecard.The following experts completed the questionnaire:Prof. Frederike Welter, Academic, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institutfür Wirtschaftsforschung, Essen and University of SiegenDr. René Leicht, Academic, research director at the Institute for SME Research of theUniversity Mannheim (ifm).Dr. Rosemarie Kay, Academic, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM), Bonn.Dr. Birgit Buschmann, Practitioner, member of the managing board of the „DeutschenGründerinnen Forums e.V.“, since 2004 member of the managing board of the„Verband Deutscher Gründungsinitiativen e.V.”Babara Wagner, Practitioner, Zentrum für Weiterbildung GmbH, Competence Center:Business GmbHIris Kronenbitter, Practitioner, CEO of the Federal agency for women’s start-upactivities and services (bga).5.2 List of ReferencesAllen, I. Elaine; Langowitz, Nan and Minniti, Maria (2007): Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor: 2006 Report on Women and Entreprenurship, London.Beck, Thorsten and de la Torre, Augusto (2007): The Basic Analytics of Access toFinancial Services Financial Markets, in: Institutions & Instruments 16 (2), pp. 79–117.Bothfeld, Silke; Klammer, Ute; Klenner, Christina; Leiber, Simone; Thiel, Anke andZiegler, Astrid (2006): WSI FrauenDatenReport 2005: Handbuch zur wirtschaftlichenund sozialen Situation von Frauen, Berlin.Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit (ed.) (2003): Unternehmerinnen inDeutschland. Gutachten im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Arbeit,Berlin.Bundesweite Gründerinnenagentur (bga) (2007): Existenzgründungen durch Frauen inDeutschland - Qualitative Bedeutung von Gründungen durch Frauen - Daten und Fakten,Stuttgart.Buschmann, Birgit; Bonacker, Margit und Caspari, Angelika (2002): FrauenspezifischeBeratungseinrichtungen für Existenzgründerinnen: Analysen und Potenziale, Stuttgart.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 45

DIW Berlin (2005): Innovationsindikator Deutschland: Bericht 2005, Berlin.European Commission (2005): ‘Making work pay’, debates from a gender perspective:A comparative review of some recent policy reforms in thirty European countries,Brussels.Evers, Jan and Lahn, Stefanie (2007): Microfinance in Germany - Needs, Problemsand Ways Forward: in: KfW Bankengruppe (Ed.): Microfinance in Germany andEurope - Market Overview and Best Practice Examples, Frankfurt am Main, pp. 17-32.FACET BV, Evers & Jung, nef (2005): Policy measures to promote the use of microcreditfor social inclusion: Study conducted on behalf of the European Commission DGEmployment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, unit E/2,Zeist.Fagan, Colette and Hebson, Gail (2006): 'Making work pay' debates from a genderperspective: a comparative review of some recent policy reforms in thirty Europeancountries, Luxembourg.Giovanelli, Constanza; Gunnsteinsdotir, Hrund and Me, Angela (2002): The Status ofStatistics on Women's and Men's Entrepreneurship in the UNECE Region, Genéve.KfW Bankengruppe (Hrsg.) (2006): KfW-Gründungsmonitor 2006, Frankfurt am Main.KfW Bankengruppe (Hrsg.) (2007): KfW-Gründungsmonitor 2007, Frankfurt am Main.Kritikos, Alexander S.; Kneiding, Christoph and Germelmann, Claas Christian (2006):Is there a Market for Micro-Lending in Industrialized Countries? Gesellschaft für Arbeitsmarktaktivierung(GfA) GfA Discussion Papers, 02/2006, Berlin.Lauxen-Ulbrich, Maria and Leicht, René (2005): Wie Frauen gründen und was sie unternehmen:Nationaler Report Deutschland: Teilprojekt: Statistiken über Gründerinnenund selbständige Frauen,Mannheim.Leicht, René and Welter, Friederike (Ed.) (2004) Gründerinnen und selbstständigeFrauen, Karlsruhe.Lopez-Claros, Augusto and Zahidi, Saadia (2005): Women's Empowerment:Measuring the Global Gender GapGeneva.Pesch, Stefanie (2005): Wirtschaftliche Wirkungen von öffentlichen Förderprogrammenfür Existenz- und Unternehmensgründungen in DeutschlandFGF-Entrepreneurship-Research-Monographien, Nr. 51Lohmar [u.a.].Reeves, Hazel; Baden, Sally (2000): Gender and Development: Concepts andDefinitions, Brighton.Sternberg, Rolf; Bergmann, Heiko and Lückgen, Ingo (2004): Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor - Unternehmensgründungen im internationalen Vergleich: LänderberichtDeutschland 2003, Köln.Sternberg, Rolf; Brixy, Udo and Hundt, Christian (2007): Global Entrepreneurship Monitor- Unternehmensgründungen im internationalen Vergleich: Länderbericht Deutschland2006, Hannover/Nürnberg.UN Economic; Social Council (1997): “Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective into allPolicies and Programmes in the United Nations system in Encyclopedia BritannicaVerheul, Ingrid; van Stel, André and Thurik, Roy (2005): Explaining female and maleentrepreneurship at the country level, Rotterdam.Wanlin, Aurore (2006): The Lisbon Scorecard VI: Will Europe's Economy rise again?,© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 46

London.Welter, Friederike; Lageman, Bernhard and Stoytcheva, Milena (2002): Gründerinnenin Deutschland – Potenziale und das institutionelle Umfeld, Essen.Welter, Friederike (2002): The Environment for Female Entrepreneurship in Germany:Paper presented at the RENT XVI, 22-23 November, Barcelona.Welter, Friederike (2004a): Institutionelle Einflüsse auf Gründerinnen und Unternehmerinnen:in: KfW Bankengruppe (Hrsg.): Chefinnensache - Frauen in der unternehmerischenPraxis, Heidelberg, pp. 33-70.Welter, Friederike (2004b): Rahmenbedingungen für Gründerinnen und Unternehmerinnenin Deutschland, in: Leicht, René and Welter, Friederike (Ed.) (2004) Gründerinnenund selbstständige Frauen, Karlsruhe, pp. 193 –208.Zebisch, Johanna and Fröhlich, Werner (2006): Gender Budgeting in der WirtschaftsförderungMünchen: Projektbericht, München.5.3 Useful Websiteswww.gruenderinnenagentur.deOnline portal of the national agency for women’s start-up activities and services (bga).The site features an extensive database of regional and local networks for femaleentrepreneurs and start-ups as well as information resources on the topic.www.wwoe.orgAn EQUAL project on innovative concepts in fostering entrepreneurship of women.The site offers information for female entrepreneurs. Highlight is an e-learning guidefor starting-up a business targeted at women.http://www.vdu.de/Website of the only German trade association of female entrepreneurs.http://www.existenzielle.de/First and only periodical magazine on female self-employment in Germany. Featuresinterviews and articles about a broad range of topics connected to women andentrepreneurship.http://www.u-netz.deWebsite of the Unternehmerinnentag Ruhrgebiet, an annual female entrepreneurshipconference located in the Ruhr area. The site gives information about networks andfemale entrepreneurship in North Rhine-Westphalia. It features a co-operationdatabase.http://www.expertinnen-beratungsnetz.de/Website of the network for career and professional counselling for women. The siteoffers information as well as contacts to counselling services and advisorshttp://www.dgfev.de/Website of the nationwide network of experts on the topic of women-led start-ups.http://www.bmfsfj.deWebsite of the Federal Ministry for Family, Social Affairs, Women and Youth© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 47

5.4 Expert QuestionnairesTable 11: Expert Questionnaire 1: Information Questions (German Version)FrageAntwortoptionenA.2.4 Ist die Förderung von neuenUnternehmen und Un-Unternehmertum ist ein Schwerpunkt aller Strategien lokaler Entwicklungternehmertum in Deutschlandeine Priorität in Stra-Unternehmertum spielt in einigen Strategien lokaler Entwicklung eine Rolletegien der lokalen Entwicklung?Unternehmertum spielt in Strategien lokaler Entwicklung keine RolleA.3.1 Kommen Kinder in Unternehmerische Themen sind in allen Lehrplänen für Grundschulen verankertDeutschland bereits in derGrundschule in Kontakt mitNur in manchen Bundesländernunternehmerischen Themen(Grundsätze derMarktwirtschaft/ Förderungder Eigeninitiative , etc) Kein KontaktA.5.2 Wie flächendeckend sind in Flächendeckend in ausreichendem Maße vorhandenDeutschland nichtfinanzielleUnterstützungsangebote(Training, Bera-Nur in einigen Regionen/Großstädten in ausreichendem Maße vorhandentung, etc) für Existenzgründungaus der Inaktivität(Arbeitslosigkeit, Sozialgeldbezug)verfügbar? Nirgendwo in ausreichendem Maße vorhandenB.1.1 Wie hoch ist in DeutschlandgeschlechtlicheGG ist eine Priorität in meherern PolitikbereichenGleichberechtigung (GG)GG ist in einem Politikbereich Priorität und wird in anderen thematisiertauf der (nationalen) politischenAgenda positioniert?GG wird in mehreren Politikbereichen thematisiertGG wird lediglich in einem Politikbereich thematisiertGG wird überhaupt nicht thematisiertB.1.2 Wird in Deutschland das Aktive Politikmaßnahmen mit quantifizierter ZielorientierungZiel der GG in aktive Politikmaßnahmenmit klaren,Aktive Politikmaßnahmen aber ohne quantifizierte Zielorientierungquantifizierten Zielvorgabenumgesetzt oder dominierenAbsichtserklärungenund die rein gesetzlicheGleichstellung?Keine aktiven PolitikmaßnahmenB.1.3 Ist in Deutschland GG imUnternehmertum ein zentralesElement von politischenStrategien der lokalenEntwicklung?Zentral in allen Strategien lokaler EntwicklungZentral in einigen und thematisert in den meisten Strategien lokaler EntwicklungThematisiert in den meisten Strategien lokaler Entwicklung© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 48

E.1.3 Wir regelmäßig und systematischwird in DeutschlandForschung zum ThemaGG in Unternehmertumund Existenzgründung betrieben?Und wie verfügbarsind nach Geschlecht disagreggierteStatistikenzum Thema Existenzgründungund Unternehmertum?Thematisiert in einigen Strategien lokaler EntwicklungWird in Strategien lokaler Entwicklung nicht thematisiertSystematische Forschung und umfassende Verfügbarkeit von statistischen DatenSystematische Forschung bei eingeschränkter DatenlageForschung findet relativ regelmäßig statt, aber nicht auf systematischer BasisNur vereinzelte ForschungsbeiträgeKeine Forschung zu diesem ThemaE.2.3 Wie verbreitet sind in Flächendeckend verbreitetDeutschland Initiativen, diedie Bildung und Entwicklungvon lokalen Netzwer-Eingeschränkte Verbreitung (Ballungsräume, Großstädte)Relativ weit verbreitetken zwischen bestehendenUnternehmerinnen und Nur eins bis zwei solcher Programme bekanntGründerinnen fördern?Keine solche Programme© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 49

Table 12: Questionnaire 2: Rating questions (German Version)Nicht anwendbar (NA)Weiß ich nicht (WN)Vollkommen wahr (5)Teilweise wahr (4)Weder wahr noch falsch (3)Teilweise falsch (2)Vollkommen falsch (1)Bitte bewerten Sie die folgenden Aussagennach der obenstehenden Skala1 2 3 4 5 WN NAA.5.4C.2.3C.3.3D.3.1D.3.2In Deutschland empfehlendie Arbeitsagenturenin allen angebrachtenFällen die Selbstständigkeitals gleichwertige Alternativezur abhängigenBeschäftigung.Deutschland verfügt übereine ausreichende sozialeInfrastruktur, so dassFrauen weiterhin arbeitenkönnen, auch wenn sieeine Familie gegründethabenIn Deutschland sind dieAnsprüche auf Überbrückungsleistungenfür E-xistenzgründungen ausder Inaktivität so gestaltet,dass sie männlicheund weibliche Existenzgründerin gleichemAusmaß unterstützen.(Höhe und Dauer der Unterstützung)In Deutschland sind erfolgreicheweibliche Unternehmergenauso präsentin den Medien wiemännliche UnternehmerIn Deutschland ist dieGründung eines Unter-© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 50

E.1.1In Deutschland werdenProgramme zur Förderungdes Unternehmertumgenerell so gestaltet,dass sie die spezifischenBedürfnisse von Männernund Frauen adressieren.E.1.4E.2.1E.2.2In Deutschland werdenForschungsergebnissezu Gender Aspekten regelmäßigverwendet, umdie Politik und Praxis derUnterstützung von Unternehmertumund Existenzgründungin dieserHinsicht zu verbessern.In Deutschland werdenAngebote zur Gründungs-und Nachgründungsbegleitunggrundsätzlichentsprechendder spezifischen Bedürfnissevon Frauen undMännern gestaltetIn Deutschland existierenspezifische Angebote zurGründungs- und NachgründungsbegleitungfürFrauen in ausreichendemMaße um das Ziel geschlechtlicherGleichberechtigungim BereichUnternehmertum zu erreichen.© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 51

5.5 List of Dimensions and Indicators usedTable 13: List of dimensions and indicators of the ScorecardDimension Subdimension Indicators MeasureA General nationalcontext forentrepreneurshipA.1EntrepreneurialOpportunitiesA.1.1 General businessconditionsA.1.2 Entry barriers 1A.1.3 Entry barriers 2A.1.4 MarketOpportunitiesGDP growth / GDP per capita / employmentrate / per capita real incomeWorldbank Doing Business Index on Startinga BusinessAverage registration time needed to start asole trader businessGEM-Index: How accessible are the nationalmarkets for new enterprises?A.2Entrepreneurialabilities (Publicsupport atnational andlocal level)A.2.1 EntrepreneurialEducationA.2.2 National PolicySupport forEntrepreneurshipA.2.3 National PublicSupport StructureA.2.4 Support forEntrepreneurship inlocal/regionaldevelopmentGEM-Index: Quality of entrepreneurialeducationGEM-Index: National Policy Support forentrepreneurshipGEM-Index: National Public SupportStructureIs fostering of (micro-) entrepreneurship apriority in strategies on local/regionaldevelopment?A.3 EntreprisecultureA.3.1 Entrepreneurship inelementary schoolsA.3.2 Impact of riskavoidance onEntrepreneurshipInclusion of Entrepreneurship as topic incurricula of elementary schoolsResult in Flash Eurobarometer No. 160Question 12: "One should not start abusiness if there is a risk it might fail"© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 52

A.3.3 Entrepreneurialnorms and valuesGEM-Expert-Index on entrepreneurial normsand valuesA.4 PolicyIncentives forentrepreneurshipA.4.1 AdministrativeburdensA.4.2 Tax regulationA.4.3 Easiness of hiringand firingA.4.4 Generosity ofbankruptcy legislationA.4.5 Taxes/RegulativeburdensWorldbank Doing Business Index onadministrative burdensWorldbank Doing business Index on taxregulationWorldbank Doing Business Index onregulation of hiring and firingWorldbank Doing Business Index onRegulation of bankruptcyGEM-Expert-IndexA.5 WelfarebridgeA.5.1 Inclusiveness ofincome supportprogrammes for selfemploymentof peoplecoming from outside thelabour marketA.5.2 Non-financialsupport measures forself-employment ofpeople coming fromoutside the labour marketA.5.3 Movement into selfemploymentA.5.4 Self-employment vs.Wage EmploymentWho are the beneficiaries of income supportschemes for self-employment out ofeconomic inactivity?Non-financial support measures (training,BDS) available for people outside the labourmarket becoming self-employedShare of economic inactive (registeredunemployed, social welfare recipients)becoming self-employedPromotion of self-employment as analternative to wage employment at jobcentresA.6 Access tofinanceA.6.1 Access to bankloansA.6.2 Use of publicsubsidiesResult in Flash Eurobarometer No. 174/184Question 14Result in Flash Eurobarometer No. 174/184Question 4© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 53

C.1.2 Gender equality inincomeC.1.3 Gender equality inatypical workGender pay gapGender gap in part-time employmentC.2 Socialinfrastructure forgender equalityin labour marketinclusionC.2.1 Gender equality inimpact of family dutiesC.2.2 Public provision ofchildcareC.2.3 General socialinfrastructure for genderequality in the labourmarketGender gap in employment impact ofparenthoodChildcare coverage rate 0-3 yearsAre there sufficient social services availableso that women can continue to work evenafter they start a family?C.3 Genderequality inwelfare bridgeC.3.1 Gender equality inreceipt of welfare benefitsC.3.2 Gender equality inmovement into selfemploymentC.3.3 Gender equality indesign of income supportprogrammesGender gap in share of population of workingage that receives welfare benefitsGender gap in share of self-employment outof economic inactivity (registeredunemployed/welfare recipients)If income support programmes are available,how integral are the needs of men andwomen in their design?D Gender equalityinentrepreneurshipand selfemploymentD.1 Genderequality in selfemploymentD.1.1 Gender equality intotal self-employmentD.1.2 Gender equality instart-up activityD.1.3 Gender equality inestablished businessownersGender gap in ratio of self-employmentversus total employmentGender gap in Early Stage EntrepreneurialActivity (GEM Measure)Gender gap in Established Business Owners(GEM Measure)© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 55

D.2 Genderequality inentrepreneurialcharacteristicsD.2.1 Gender equality inentrepreneurialmotivationD.2.2 Gender equality insize of entrepreneurialprojectsGender gap in the ratio of Opportunity toNecessity Early Stage Entrepreneurship(GEM-Measure)Gender gaps in average size of businesses(employees/turnover)D.3 Genderequality inentrepreneurialcultureD.3.1 Gender equality inmedia representation ofentrepreneurshipD.3.2 Gender equality inthe entrepreneurial rolemodelHow present are successful femaleentrepreneurs in the media compared to maleones?How accepted is self-employment of womenin the society?E Gender equalityin supportstructures forentrepreneurshipE.1Entrepreneurshippromotionactivities aim forgender equalityinentrepreneurshipE.1.1 Design ofEntrepreneurshippromotional activitiesE.1.2 Specificpromotional activitiesaimed at womenE.1.3 Research activity onthe gender aspects ofentrepreneurshipHow widespread is the consideration of thespecific needs of women and men in thedesign of promotional activities forentrepreneurship?Are specific promotional activities aimed atwomen in place when deemed necessary orneeded for achieving gender equality inentrepreneurship?Is there a systematic and regular researchactivity on gender aspects of entrepreneurship?© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 56

E.1.4 Impact of genderresearch on supportstructure policy andpracticeAre gender research results used to influenceand improve policy and practice of thesupport structure for entrepreneurshipE.2 Localsupportmeasures aim forgender equalityinentrepreneurshipE.2.1 Design of BDSactivitiesE.2.2 Specific BDSactivities for womenE.2.3 Local networking offemale entrepreneursHow many BDS activities are designed withthe specific needs of women and men inmind?Are specific BDS activities for women in placewhen deemed necessary or needed forachieving gender equality inentrepreneurship?Existence and density of programmes thatfoster local networking between establishedand potential women entrepreneursF Gender equalityin access tofinanceF.1 Start-upresourcesF.1.1 Gender equality inpersonal funding of startupF.1.2 Gender equality inoverall start-up resourcesGender gap in businesses started with ownfundsGender gap in overall start-up resources ofbusinesses in the service sectorF.2 Access tofinanceF.2.1 Gender equality inaccess to bank loansF.2.2 Gender equality inaccess to public loanschemesGender gap in use of bank loans vs. share ofwomen-led enterprisesGender gap in use of public loan schemes vs.share of woman-led enterprisesF.3 Access tomicrofinanceF.3.1 Gender equality inaccess to microcreditF.3.2 Impact ofmicrocredit sectorGender gap in use of microcredit vs. share ofwoman-led enterprisesNumber of micro loans disbursed to womenper 100.000 female self-employed persons© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 57

F.3.3 Targeting of genderspecificneeds inmicrofinanceExistence of microfinance schemes targetinggender-specific needsImprintPublisherAuthorsEVERS & JUNG, Deichstr. 29, 20459 Hamburg, Germany, www.eversjung.deThis study was produced by Evers&Jung. Layout and Editorial: Stefanie Lahn, DagmarHayen, Michael Unterberg© 2007 This study is for your personal informational purposes only. All rights reserved. Neitherthis study nor any part of it may be used for commercial purposes, altered or publishedwithout the prior permission of Evers&Jung.Date August 2007© Evers & Jung 2005 Page 58

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