Starting your own business is often seen as a way to achieve greater work-life balance and flexibility, but our research into the reasons why women leave their jobs and the emotional impact it can have reveals that the reality for many female founders is quite different.
Researchers Dr Janine Swale (University of Auckland) and Dr Susan Marlow (University of Nottingham) conducted in-depth interviews with 16 female founders in the UK and found that all participants left their businesses for personal reasons, rather than financial or performance issues.
These reasons were related to gendered caregiving responsibilities for children and aging parents. Survey participants who have children or plan to have children said this was their main reason for leaving or selling their business.
In addition to childcare responsibilities as a mother being a major motivator for many women’s decisions to quit or sell their businesses, tensions over household finances were also an issue, and many business owners found themselves struggling with trade-offs between the time they spent on their business and the time they spent on their family.
In the face of these economic impacts, participants highlighted the disadvantages and problems of using entrepreneurship as a means to achieve flexible working and work-life balance.
The study authors say the common perception that entrepreneurship offers a route to earn a decent income while offering greater flexibility and choice about how, when and where you work could be dangerous.
Dr Swale said nearly all of the study participants experienced strong negative emotions immediately after leaving their jobs, including feelings of failure when they closed their businesses or quit.
“We need to take a more nuanced look at entrepreneurship and self-employment and have difficult, realistic conversations within our households about what it takes to get a business up and running, especially if we have a family or are considering starting one.”
“Entrepreneurs, especially women, need to build relationships where they can get support in terms of caregiving and finances. This is something that isn’t discussed openly much in the startup ecosystem.”
Marlow and Swale say advocacy groups and government policy initiatives should refrain from presenting self-employment in a simplistic and overly optimistic way.
“The government has a responsibility not to repeat the argument that entrepreneurship is beneficial for everyone, because it’s clear that for some women who have significant caring responsibilities at some point in their lives, this path can be financially and emotionally damaging.”
