Gender roles and stereotypes influence why women leave their businesses, and a new paper highlights the challenges women entrepreneurs face in juggling work and family life.
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 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.
Dr Swale, a senior lecturer in entrepreneurship and innovation, said although the study participants were from the UK, the findings had implications for New Zealand and the world at large.
Governments have a responsibility not to replicate the narrative that entrepreneurship is beneficial for everyone, because it is clear that for some women, this path can be financially and psychologically damaging.
Although all of the women surveyed said that their decision to quit their businesses was a personal and voluntary one, the researchers said that they were often forced to quit because it was impossible to meet the competing time demands of family and business.
“The evidence shows participants are forced to exit or close their businesses, often without the lure of alternative career opportunities such as stable employment. This undermines the so-called choice and agency that is supposedly involved in an entrepreneurial career,” Dr Swale said.
“As a result, more women entrepreneurs are likely to experience forced sales, closures, or simply exit from their businesses.”
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.
As one interviewee put it, “Basically, I wanted a job that gave me flexibility. [business ownership] “It’s a flexible job. I wanted a job where I didn’t have to work full time, which was totally wrong, especially when it comes to starting your own business. I think it takes over your life and you become just a baby.”
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.
Swail 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 families about what it takes to get a business up and running, especially if you 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.”
The researchers say the many networking sites that exist to inspire female entrepreneurs and provide mentorship, role models and educational support should also provide a channel for women to share their more negative experiences with starting a business.
