Mastercard: More Support Needed for Post-Pandemic Businesswomen
The coronavirus pandemic is hitting female entrepreneurs harder than males, according to research by Mastercard which called for more supportive gender-specific initiatives, digital training and financial inclusion.
87 percent of female business owners have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the report, which the report attributes to various issues such as overrepresentation in the hardest-hit sectors (tourism, retail, F&B, etc.); a pronounced digital gender gap; and childcare responsibilities.
Although some have adapted to the new environment – 42 percent have shifted to digital business models and 34 percent have found new opportunities since the pandemic – Mastercard urged for more efforts to close the gender gap.
«What the findings make clear is that regardless of an economy’s wealth, level of development, size, and geographic location, gender inequalities continue to persist – even pre-pandemic,» said Julienne Loh, Mastercard’s executive vice president of enterprise partnerships in Asia Pacific.
Coordinated Support for Women
According to Loh, governments, financial services and business organizations should make a coordinated effort to do three things: «offer systemic support and programs to enable women to survive and thrive in this new normal; equip them with skills to navigate the digital world; and nurture an equitable, accessible financial services system that supports women’s work and entrepreneurship».
«These are not easy to deliver, but investments like these can yield priceless dividends for not only women but society as a whole,» she said
Top Economies for Women
The report also included an index to rank economies globally for their advancement of women in business in pre-pandemic conditions called the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE). Based on public data from sources like OECD and International Labor Organization, the index ranked 58 economies for the advancement of women in business.
Israel took the top spot followed by the U.S. and Switzerland. The index also ranked 15 Asia Pacific economies and seven made the list of top 20 including New Zealand (4th), Australia (9th), Thailand (11th), Taiwan (12th), Hong Kong (15th), Philippines (16th) and Indonesia (17th).
