More and more women at the head of companies and found their own startups. Their main benefits are independence, flexible work time and the compatibility of the profession with the family. 27,191 Styrian companies are in the hands of women, which is 1,392 more than in the previous year - this is a new record.  

Each year 8 March - International Women’s Day is an opportunity to take a look at the position of women in everyday life. The "Styrian Economy" has taken the occasion to focus on all women who are entrepreneurial and contribute significantly to the economic success of Austria. There are more and more women in the game: 27,191 companies are in the hands of women, which corresponds to 37.4 percent of all stalking businesses - and the trend is still rising. For last year alone, the number has risen by 1,392, which also shows the current start-up statistics: 47.1 percent of all companies founded in the previous year are under female leadership. If we add the female-dominated branch of the caregiver, this value even increases an impressive 65.7 percent.

"A great development, which shows that women as women entrepreneurs are in the fast lane," said the country's chairman of Woman in Business (FiW), Adelheid Moretti. This is also confirmed by a recent study by KMU Forschung Austria on "Women Entrepreneurs in Austria". According to this, women-owned businesses are primarily created by startups. Almost three-quarters of respondents say they founded their own company. By the way, these companies on average employ up to three employees. Statistically, female entrepreneurs are 46.7 years old, found on average at 42.2 years.

Central motivations for the step into self-employment for women are above all independence, flexible work time and the compatibility of the profession with the family. According to the study, however, entrepreneurship is associated with special conditions: women would face particular challenges with regard to startups and leadership that would not exist for men. The overwhelming majority (73 percent) of the women entrepreneurs themselves take care of their children - by comparison: among the fathers, it is only 36 percent. Therefore, for example, two-thirds of all "bosses" support the tax deductibility of childcare up to the age of 14 years. 

Read the full article on news.wko.at (in German).