Countries standing in the top of MIWE ranking included New Zealand with 74.2, Sweden of 71.3, Canada of 70.9, the US of 70.8 and Singapore of 69.2.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of Vietjet Air was included in Forbes list of 19 most powerful women in business 2017.
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This suggests that women's progression as entrepreneurs are not necessary aligned to the pace of their country's economic development and wealth.
In fact, some of the highest rates of Women Business Ownership are observed in the less wealthy, factor-driven markets where women are driven to businesses out of necessity/need to survive .
These are usually evident in the more advanced and wealthier economies where education, financial, business, legal and regulatory frameworks and services are more developed and widespread. Here, women tend to have access to bigger pools of resources and support to pursue their business interests/desires.
These markets are at the top of the MIWE, and include New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, United States, Singapore, Portugal, Australia and Belgium.
The key constraints to women's progress as business owners remained broadly the same, with at least one being reported in all the 57 markets covered. Most of the barriers are a result of gender bias, and include poor social/cultural acceptance and lack of business resources such as finances, capital, training and development usually leading to business discontinuity. Other non-discriminatory forms of barriers stem from inefficiencies at the governance and regulatory levels such as poor support for SMEs and difficulties in doing businesses.
In 2016 alone, an estimated 163 million women were starting or running new businesses in 74 economies around the world. The gender divide in entrepreneurship narrows on various fronts. First, an increase of 10% in Women's Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rates between the 2014 to 2016 period brought the gender gap down by 5%.
Using 12 indicators and 25 sub-indicators, the Index looks at how 57 economies (representing 78.6 percent of the world's female labor force) differ in terms of the level of Women's Advancement Outcomes, Knowledge Assets & Financial Access and Supporting Entrepreneurial Factors. The Index also provides insight on which factors and conditions are most conducive to closing the gender gap among entrepreneurs/business owners in an economy.
