Promoting female entrepreneurship in the European Union : a focus on Malta

Abstract

This dissertation looks at how female entrepreneurship is promoted in the European Union with a particular focus on Malta. Female entrepreneurs are found to be great contributors and a great asset to the economy. This study analyses why Malta has a low percentage of female entrepreneurs and what can be done to get more females interested to opt for this sector. Based on a review of the literature on internal and external determinants of entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurship, and barriers faced by female entrepreneurship, secondary research is used with qualitative and quantitative data and also a case study on Malta. These are used in order to find out how the European Union is promoting Female Entrepreneurship, how Malta compares to the European Union in terms of female entrepreneurship and how female entrepreneurship is being promoted in Malta. The responses showed that the EU did implement a lot of policies for female entrepreneurs to make use of, however, the Maltese Government only implemented one policy throughout 2014 until 2020 which directly focuses on female entrepreneurs. The results indicate that there is a lot of untapped female entrepreneurship potential in Malta. If the barriers that female entrepreneurs face are addressed and new policies are implemented, more females might opt for this career path which will result in job creation, solutions to problems, more innovation and creativity and will help international trade. This will also help in addressing the gender gap in entrepreneurial activity and in achieving more gender equality in Malta.