Girl power! Polish women most entrepreneurial in EU and 5th in the world, says new ranking
Polish women have been ranked as the 5th most entrepreneurial in the world.
The 2020 Mastercard rankings were led by Israel with the United States in second, Switzerland in third, New Zealand in fourth and Poland in 5th, the highest ranking European Union country.
The 2020 Mastercard rankings were led by Israel with the United States in second, Switzerland in third, New Zealand in fourth and Poland in 5th, the highest ranking European Union country.
Poland’s new higher ranking comes on the back of receiving a 6.8 percent higher score than last year on Mastercard’s index, pushing the country up 11 places in the rankings.
The ranks were created based on analysis of data from institutions such as the World Bank, UNESCO, World Economic Forum (WEF), InterParliamentary Union and the OECD.
Poland’s female entrepreneurs include some of the country’s leading scientific and technological minds with companies such as Warsaw Genomics, Saule Technologies, indaHASH and VividQ being founded and led by women.
‘Mastercard’s Index of Women Entrepreneurs uses in-depth analysis across 12 indicators and 25 sub-indicators spanning Advancement Outcomes, Knowledge Assets & Financial Access, and Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions’ -according to the report.
In the assessment of ‘Advancement Outcomes’, the number of women participating in the workforce, in leadership positions and in professional jobs, Poland ranked 4th behind Colombia, the Philippines and Russia.
A report published in February this year by Transparent Data based on information from the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG) and the National Court Register (KRS) showed that nearly 800,000 women were the owners of sole trader businesses in Poland.
Entrepreneur Ania Chagowska, owner of the Salsa Libre dance studio in Warsaw said: “Apparently the strong character of Polish women is a consequence of the [second world] war.”
The same report showed that there were 88,700 women holding the position of President or CEO in Polish companies and over 120,000 organizations where the board was 100 percent females.
Poland’s female entrepreneurs include some of the country’s leading scientific and technological minds with companies such as Warsaw Genomics, Saule Technologies, indaHASH and VividQ being founded and led by women.
This is not a new phenomenon as a report from the EU in 2012 showed that Poland had the highest rate of female entrepreneurship then too.
Paula Pul, who was named on Forbes 30 under 30 list, is a serial entrepreneur and has started a string of businesses, acted as a mentor and investor for several more and is now a co-founder and managing partner in a law firm that specializes in VC, M&A transactions, new tech and intellectual property.
Ania Chagowska, Owner of the Salsa Libre dance studio in Warsaw said: “Apparently the strong character of Polish women is a consequence of the [second world] war.
“I’ve been reading a lot about it. For many years women couldn’t count on men’s support in the family.
Joanna Zielińska is CEO and co-founder of Black Swan, a Warsaw-based venture capital fund that was co-founded by four businesswomen and invests in female-led start-ups.
“Many men died during the war, or were in the army, or were taken into socialist prisons. Women had to stand on their own, they had to work and care for their homes and children.
“This is why we have a tradition of strong feminism.”
