A group scorecard of 31 countries saw the United States, Canada and Australia bagging the top three places for women in business. Yet with respective scores of 71 and 69 per cent, it’s hardly cause for celebration.
The US’s higher score is being attributed to a greater opportunity for women to create start-ups and women’s job mobility in the market.
A staggering 70 per cent of the 31 countries polled scored below 50 per cent, indicating a marked growth gap between male-female driven businesses and a great need for improvement across the board.
The Scorecard created as part of the sixth annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Summit demonstrates a need for all countries to improve on issues of gender-based discrimination and increase opportunities for female leaders.
Karen Quintos, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Dell said, “Our Women’s Entrepreneur Network aims to ensure women entrepreneurs have access to technology, capital and networks to grow their businesses. The Scorecard provides the data-driven insights we need to move the broader conversation from awareness to action and allow female entrepreneurs around the world to reach their full potential.”
Access to resources such as education, Internet and small and medium enterprise programs played a large part in establishing the rankings of each country. Lack of equal rights for women in countries such as India and Japan also impede on women’s success.