Entrepreneurship for women: State of the situation in the district of Cholet[Entreprendre au féminin : Etat de la situation dans l'arrondissement de Cholet]

In Cholet, as in the rest of France, the number of women on the job market has almost doubled over the past 40 years, while that of men has dropped by almost 4%. However, the creation of businesses on the initiative of women has not followed the same curve. The Entrepreneurial Activity Rate of women in France is even one of the lowest in the European Union and OECD countries. The entrepreneurial potential of women therefore deserves to be stimulated. But to guide action, it is necessary to know more precisely the characteristics of this "female entrepreneurship". This is the subject of the quantitative study that we carried out in 2003-2004, as part of the research program in human and social sciences of the State-Region Plan Contract of the Pays de la Loire. Based on a questionnaire survey of 200 companies in the Cholet district run by women, the study seeks to provide answers to a series of questions: 1. Who are the women entrepreneurs in the district of Cholet? 2. Are there differences between female and male entrepreneurship? 3. Does gender influence the level of performance of the company? 4. Are there any problems (difficulties, obstacles) specific to female entrepreneurship? 5. What measures can be envisaged to promote female entrepreneurship in Cholet? Research has shown that there are several observations that twist certain prejudices, for example that it is not only having a child that delays entry into entrepreneurship but also having a spouse. Even if several factors tend to discourage women, even more than men, from starting or running their own business, the survey shows that many of the problems faced by firms are the same for all entrepreneurs, men and women. . These problems include access to sources of finance, difficulties in establishing and expanding markets, lack of managerial experience and skills, varying attitudes and skills in the area of IT as well as administrative or regulatory constraints. Concluding that "the" female entrepreneur does not exist and that female entrepreneurship does not fundamentally differ from male entrepreneurship, the author makes several recommendations to local officials.