Supporting women entrepreneurs makes good economic sense, with more Filipino women more active than men in starting a business.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the largest single study of entrepreneurial activity in the world, profiled entrepreneurship in the Philippines in a 2006-2007 study. Analysis of the study (by Imelda Madarang, Cielito Habito and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship) showed four out of 10 adult Filipinos, aged 18 to 64 are engaged in business, which approximates around 19 million (39.2%) of the national population. Globally, the Philippines ranks second among 42 countries with most individuals owning a business. One out of five Filipinos (20.44%) or about 10 million adult Filipinos is engaged in early stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA).
Globally, the Philippines has the least gender gap among business owners (55% male against 45% female) and has women more active in starting a business than men. Women also comprise 51% of new business owners. Women predominantly own nascent enterprises (69%), but men predominantly own established businesses (66%). Data suggests that women start a business, until the business has stabilized for the husband to take on full-time involvement. Women cited family time management as a leading hindrance in running their businesses. Women in their peak child-rearing years (25 to 34 years old) cite this constraint the most (38%), while the proportion of women citing this factor as a hindrance in business is declining for women aged 45 and over.