Women Entrepreneurs for a Viable Countryside

Ahl, Helene (2020) Women Entrepreneurs for a Viable Countryside. UNSPECIFIED.

Abstract

For three years, the Embla research group, with the support of the Kamprad Foundation, has been studying women's entrepreneurship in rural areas. Using register data, we have mapped the scope, industry, size, demographic data and disposable income for all women who run rural businesses in Sweden. We have analyzed rural policy from a gender perspective. We also conducted an in-depth study in which we interviewed 32 women entrepreneurs in the rural south-east of Sweden. To top it off, we produced a film in which some women in their own words tell us what it is like to be an entrepreneur in a rural area.The rest of the results will be published in the coming year, but we can already offer some summary observations. First, they are many. Women own almost a third of all rural businesses. Second, their businesses are in a variety of industries. The most common industry is forestry, but unlike the men who are mostly found in forestry, agriculture, construction and transport, women are found in many different industries - more specifically 572 different ones! Number two on the top ten list is hair care, followed by mixed agriculture, restaurant operations, accounting and bookkeeping, body care, organizational consultancy, physical therapy, literary and artistic creation and other consumer services. But these industries include only 37% of companies owned by women.