The unexpected positive effect the pandemic is having on women

Industry experts have been eagerly tracking an upsurge of entrepreneurship in the US for the last five years or so.

For a lucky few, self-employment is a relatively painless solution to poor work-life balance placed upon cogs occupying corporations.

Unfortunately, most who share in the frustrations associated with a 9 to 5 work cycle have a hard time finding their footing on their own. This is especially true of under-represented groups.

According to a recent international survey composed of 9,000 women (across 15 different countries), nearly two-thirds want to open their own business–primarily to escape systemic bias in the labor market.

The second annual Global Entrepreneurship survey was commissioned by Herbalife Nutrition, in partnership with Onepoll.

A similar collaboration was revealed in the published data with respect to motivating factors.

Alongside corporate frustrations, instability engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to inspire women to make a go at starting their own business. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said as much in the new report in fact.

Collectively, the most common inciting factors that lead women to start their own business were as follows:

1.The desire to inspire young girls to aspire toward autonomy (80%).

2.The desire to manage their own hours, workload, wages and output (60%)

3. Frequent incidents of discrimination endured in corporate ecosystems including fewer opportunities to move up within a company compared to male colleagues, lack of equal pay, male bosses not taking them seriously, and reoccurring instances of sexual harassment.

An additional 30% of respondents said that they actually put off having children because of the dearth of opportunities available for working mothers occupying the traditional job market; a similar majority feel exasperated from constantly having to play catch up with their male coworkers.

From the report:

“Two-thirds of the survey say they’re committed to breaking the “glass ceiling” in the corporate world. Over half of the women believe starting their own business will help grow their income.”

The rest of the factors that inspired women to consider self-employment were more or less premised by the agency. The respondents occasioned things like flexible work/personal life (45%), better job satisfaction (40%), and a chance to earn what that person thinks they’re worth (37%) in equal measure.

Seventy percent of the respondents confessed to being “very worried” that their business will fail within five years. Fifty-percent of the very same respondents credited this fear to money; more discreetly, these anticipate that they will have difficulties financing their projects.

Although self-employment is often pitched as a singularly formidable undertaking, the career shift is being taken on by Americans from all walks of life in growing numbers.

According to a recent FreshBooks survey, 88% of entrepreneurs accept the challenges of the shift because entrepreneurship fulfills them emotionally and creatively. A much smaller majority did so out of some kind of financial necessity. Eight-five percent of the first group additionally reported job satisfaction.

“Being an entrepreneur is not always an easy path, but with the right opportunity, hard work, and a supportive community, it can be very rewarding,” explains Jenny Hienrich of Herbalife Nutrition in a media statement.