When looking at the position of women in the economy—whether as founders and entrepreneurs or as employees and executives—there remains a wide gap between aspiration and reality in Germany. Studies show that women contribute significantly to Germany’s economic performance, young women are better educated when entering the workforce, and diverse teams are a key factor in the success of companies and startups. However, it is also a fact that women remain underrepresented in business startups, in business succession, in STEM professions, on executive boards, and in other leadership positions in the German economy.
There are a multitude of interrelated and mutually reinforcing reasons for this: structural factors within the companies themselves, as well as structural factors that continue to make it difficult to balance family and career; financial factors, such as limited access to capital and misguided tax incentives; and, finally, sociocultural factors that shape women’s career development. The latter, in particular, is of great significance, as outdated gender stereotypes are still widespread in this country. We aspire to be a liberal, modern society that offers equal opportunities to women and men, but the numbers tell a different story: A study on business succession by the Bundesweite Gründerinnenagentur (bga) shows that when it comes to succession within the family, male business owners significantly prefer their son over their daughter—by about 73 percent. Moreover, women unfortunately still take over businesses less frequently than men: Only 25 percent of successors are women—and this despite the fact that, according to a DIHK study, women now account for 43 percent of all aspiring entrepreneurs interested in taking over or starting a new business. This potential must be better harnessed.
We know how important role models are when choosing a vocational training program or a field of study, whether it involves starting a business, succeeding a business, or taking on leadership positions in the business world. Role models provide guidance and give people the confidence to believe in their own abilities. This awareness is also of great importance for fostering an entrepreneurial mindset. We therefore need more visible role models—and precisely those female entrepreneurs and successors—in decision-making bodies, on panels, in the media, in textbooks, and in career guidance. After all, we can only become what we experience and can imagine! Education and upbringing have a duty to break down educational stereotypes and encourage young women to choose self-employment as a career option.
The Association of German Women Entrepreneurs also sees it as its mission to take responsibility for the next generation of women entrepreneurs: We connect young business successors with successful women entrepreneurs who share their expertise, offer encouragement, and demonstrate what is possible. In addition to networking and sharing experiences, highlighting role models is one of our central goals. Through our pilot project “she succeeds – More Female Succession!” as well as through our “she succeeds” awards—the first and only award in Germany that honors successful business successions and transfers—we feature both internal and external female business successors, as well as former business owners who have made a significant contribution to paving the way for women to become entrepreneurs through business succession.
It is particularly important to us to highlight the diverse ways in which women can successfully step into the role of a business successor. Our role models have either planned to take over the business as a daughter or taken it over unexpectedly; they have purchased the business as former executives or external managers; and they now run the companies on their own, as siblings, or as part of a team with several people. They share their experiences and encourage women interested in business succession to take the step of taking over a company through succession. By highlighting these various models, we aim to present self-employment as an attractive career option for women at different stages of life. Highlighting the potential of and for women in business succession is a crucial step toward ensuring a successful generational transition in small and medium-sized enterprises. After all, to successfully navigate the major transformation processes in the German economy, we need all available expertise—and we cannot do without women.
