More than 99 percent of companies in Germany belong to the medium-sized businesses – accordingly diverse it is: It includes modern industrial companies, many highly specialized global market leaders (Hidden Champions), small and large family businesses as well as startups, craft businesses, solo self-employed individuals, and service companies, for example, in trade and liberal professions. Already today, women make the medium-sized businesses strong: they are CEOs and executives, founders and investors, consultants and master craftswomen, “participating” businesswomen; they volunteer in guilds and chambers and work in non-profit organizations.
After all, every fifth medium-sized company already has a female CEO, meaning 757,000 medium-sized businesses in Germany were led by women in 2022.1 These self-employed women control the company’s fortunes, make strategic investment decisions, and plan for the future. In total, 1.2 million women in Germany are self-employed. 40 percent of them (480,000) do not work alone: they have a total of 3.3 million employees and around 100,000 apprentices. A quarter of self-employed women (293,000) have an immigration background. 89 percent of self-employed women work in the service sector. Particularly, many companies in the liberal professions are led by women. This includes, for example, legal and tax consultancies. The share of female founders in the liberal professions among all startups increased for the second year in a row in 2022 and was at 55 percent.
More Female Entrepreneurs for the Medium-Sized Businesses
Five federal ministries and 26 stakeholders, associations, networks, and scientific institutions are involved in the action plan "More Female Entrepreneurs for the Medium-Sized Businesses" and have developed more than 40 measures. The goal: to motivate more women to start and become entrepreneurial! For this, we improve access to venture capital, strengthen women's networks, create more female role models, and advance the compatibility of family and work.
SIE gründet e.V. – Association of International Entrepreneurs in Germany is involved as a participant and advocates for the interests and visibility of entrepreneurs with an immigration background in Germany.