Sweden stands out as one of the worst in the class when it comes to the proportion of women running businesses. While the EU average is over 33 percent, only just over a quarter of Sweden’s entrepreneurs are women. Only in four other EU countries is the percentage lower: Slovakia, Ireland, Malta and Romania, figures from Eurostat show. Pernilla Norlin, director of social policy at Företagarna, points to a number of different factors. Among other things, that there is an employment standard in Sweden around which the security systems are built.
– Here we see that something drastic must happen. It must become clearer and easier to be able to receive different compensations even if you are an entrepreneur, she says.
Women often run businesses in hair and beauty care, education and care. Personnel-intensive industries that often have low margins, reasons Pernilla Norlin.
– Given that many women work in these industries, we believe that employer contributions must be lowered so that personnel costs are reduced.
The lack of expensive benefits is discouraging
Self-employed Annika Trogen left a job in business and runs a company where she holds courses in motorboat driving. She sees advantages in the freedom and flexibility of self-employment, but notes that she does not have the same job security as before.
– Pension provision or health insurance are expensive benefits that you don’t have to think about as an employee, but as a self-employed person you pay for them yourself. I think that can stop people from daring to start their own business, she says.
The government has given the Agency for Growth the task of looking at how to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship in Sweden. The assignment must be reported in April 2024.