Social norms, stereotypes still stand in women entrepreneurs’ way to success

Social norms, stereotypes still stand in women entrepreneurs’ way to success

By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: According to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs for 2019, opportunities for a woman to become an entrepreneur are closely related to where she was born and reached adulthood. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum revealed in “The Gender Gap “report for 2021 that Kuwait dropped 21 places in the index, which measures equality between women and men in the areas of health, education, economy and politics.

As for sub-indicators, Kuwait ranked 137th globally in economic participation and employment opportunities among both sexes. Bedour Al-Sumait, President of the Business and Professional Women Federation, told Kuwait Times about the difficulties Kuwaiti entrepreneurs face locally.

“Kuwaiti women entrepreneurs face many challenges according to social traditions – finishing paperwork at governmental authorities such as the General Administration of Customs and the Ports Authority is one of them,” she said, adding “there is no law preventing women from visiting such places, but the social pressure that does not accept the presence of women in these places is more powerful.”

Lack of confidence

Sumait rued that the local society still does not have full confidence in women entrepreneurs, mostly in leadership positions, explaining that women entrepreneurs are facing difficulties getting other companies’ attention due to the stereotypical