starting their own businesses, women do makeit happen. Forty-one percent of entrepre- neurs today are women, found the recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report on women’s entrepreneurial activity released by The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College. “Our results suggest that employed women who know other entrepreneurs are the most likely to start a new business,” said entrepreneurship professor Maria Minniti, one of the authors of the report. Policy makers should promote entrepreneurial education atthe college and post-graduate level and encourage womento pursue technical degrees, found a recent report. @ The report found that if a woman believed she had the knowledge, skills and experience required to start a business she was more likely to do so. Women with a strong fear of failure were less likely to start one. As with men, and whether their income was relatively high or low, most women starting businesses do it while they hold a job. Also, women entrepreneurs tend to start businesses with known technology and in established markets, such as a dry cleaner where there are profitable ones in the area, and not thefirst Internet caf when they were new. The study results underline the need for supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of women by providing training, financial support and positive role models. For more information about Babson College, internationally recognized as a leader in entrepreneurial management education, visit www.babson.edu. For information about the GEM report, visit www.gemconsortium.org.
