After steady growth over the past fifteen years, one in three European self-employed workers is a woman. This growth goes hand in hand with increasing equality between men and women in Europe. In the Netherlands, 37.8 percent of self-employed workers are women, placing us in the 11th position in Europe. Research for the latest Talent Monitor, conducted by labor market specialist Intelligence Group and HR tech service provider HeadFirst Group, shows that the further emancipation has progressed in a country, the more women choose self-employment.
An extensive analysis of data since 2010 reveals a very strong relationship between emancipation and the proportion of female self-employed workers in Europe. By linking the data to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index (GGI), which measures inequality between men and women, a clear correlation has been found. It can be stated that in countries with a smaller gender gap, the percentage of female self-employed workers is significantly higher. In other words, increasing gender equality stimulates entrepreneurship among women. “This is a very positive trend and simultaneously emphasizes the need to continue promoting equal opportunities as a driver for economic and social growth,” says Marion van Happen, CEO of HeadFirst Group.
In 2024, 36 percent of self-employed workers in the European Union (EU-27) are women, an increase from 34 percent in 2010. This year, Luxembourg became the first European country where more than half of the self-employed workers are women (50.7 percent). Latvia follows with an almost equal share (49.8 percent), while countries like Ireland (26.8 percent) and Romania (26.9 percent) lag far behind. In the Netherlands, the percentage is 37.8, slightly higher than in Belgium (36.6 percent).
The research also shows that in countries where self-employed workers work fewer hours per week on average, the proportion of female self-employed workers is often higher. In countries where the difference in hours worked between men and women as self-employed is small, we see relatively fewer female self-employed workers. “Self-employment offers women an attractive form of work because it allows them to combine care tasks with flexibility and a better work-life balance. The possibility to work fewer hours as a self-employed person or to pursue other ambitions contributes to their autonomy and strengthens the emancipation of women,” says Geert-Jan Waasdorp, director and founder of Intelligence Group.
In Europe, male self-employed workers work an average of 40.9 hours per week, while women work an average of 34.5 hours. Greek self-employed workers work the most hours (43.4 hours), followed by Spanish self-employed workers (41.7 hours). Luxembourg’s self-employed workers work the fewest hours (30.8 hours), followed by Estonian self-employed workers (31.9 hours). In the Netherlands, the average is 33.6 hours, well below the European average.
