Gender inequality is a global problem. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Women Entrepreneurship Report 2018/19 shows that the average rate of women’s overall entrepreneurial activity is 10.2%, which is more than three-quarters of the overall rate of men’s entrepreneurial activity. Women are already experiencing the economic and social consequences of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the repercussions of a crisis are never gender-neutral, and COVID 19 is no exception. “Across the globe, women earn less, save less, hold less secure jobs, are more likely to be employed in the informal sector. They have less access to social protection and are the majority of single-parent households. Their capacity to absorb economic shocks is therefore less than that of men.” This Health crisis could reverse women’s economic gains achieved over the last few decades unless we act purposefully now.

Over the last 15 years, the Impact Hub network has supported more than 30,000 impact-driven enterprises in 55+ countries across all inhabited continents. Together with our local and global partners, we are ideally placed to contribute to a swift, sustainable and just economic recovery. Impact Hub has a replicable model that is financially sustainable and highly efficient while being deeply embedded in local context and ecosystems.

At Impact Hub, we believe in supporting entrepreneurs with our accelerator programs as they prepare entrepreneurs for growth and serve as a pipeline for investors. Research by the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative showed that only 13 percent of our applicants were female-led teams compared to 52 percent male-led and 35 percent mixed teams. We believe that accelerators should apply a gender lens and concentrate on making business support and services more available to women entrepreneurs to raise awareness among all entrepreneurs about gender equity and gender equality.

As a result, we developed the Accelerators As Drivers For Gender Equality Guide with the assistance of INCAE Business School, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and thanks to a grant from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

Read the full article about gender inclusive practices at Impact Hub Network.