- The number of unemployed senior women according to the latest EAPS is almost half a million. Becoming an entrepreneur is an opportunity to return to the job market, but only 20 percent of people who decide to become entrepreneurs in Spain are women.
- In spite of the increase in entrepreneurship in Spain, the number of women opting for this professional path has remained almost unchanged during the last 10 years.
- For all these reasons, Generación SAVIA focusses on this problem on Women's Entrepreneurship Day. The project, promoted by the Endesa Foundation and the máshumano Foundation, has been giving senior professionals visibility and supporting them for five years, helping them to turn their projects into success stories and to inspire other women.
Ageism and gender discrimination in the workplace are two major problems faced by women over 50 years old who decide to become entrepreneurs. This double discrimination can be seen in the data published in the latest Economically Active Population Survey (EAPS), which places the number of unemployed senior women at 479,200, compared to 368,200 men.
In spite of the fact that Spain has very encouraging data with regard to entrepreneurship, this option is selected to a lesser extent by women. In this regard, Spain is ranked as the fourth European country with the highest number of start-ups and it is expected that in the next three years 10% of the population will embark on their own business project. According to a report by PwC, the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem increased in value by 8.6% to reach 93,000 million dollars in 2022. This is because entrepreneurship has become an increasingly popular solution to address difficulties in the labour market. However, according to South Summit's "Entrepreneurship Map for 2023", only 20% of those who decide to take this route are women, compared to 80% for men. The most revealing aspect of this data is that, in spite of the growth that entrepreneurship has experienced in recent years, the number of women who select this route has hardly changed in the last decade.
This is why, on Women's Entrepreneurship Day, which is held on 19 November, it is essential to promote visibility for the contribution of women to the world of entrepreneurship, as well as the solutions and support available to help women over 50 years of age on the route to entrepreneurship. It is precisely in this field that Generación SAVIA, a project of the Endesa Foundation in collaboration with the máshumano Foundation, helps senior professionals to return to the labour market and has been promoting entrepreneurship for more than 5 years as an important option to escape the problem of unemployment.
An X-ray of entrepreneurship in Spain reveals that the predominant profile for en entrepreneur in Spain is that of a young man, according to the data collected in the "GEM Spain 2022-2023" report, although it should be pointed out that in Spain entrepreneurship is taken up later than in other countries. At the same time, the highest percentage of entrepreneurial initiatives occurs between the ages of 35 and 44, and as the age of entrepreneurs increases, the number of entrepreneurs decreases.
If we also look at the data on self-employed workers provided in the III Senior Talent Map prepared by the Ageingnomics Research Centre, there are many more senior self-employed people (977,000) than young people (189,000). Within the self-employment modality, senior workers account for 31.1% of the total in Spain. However, in the case of both young people and seniors, the preponderance of women is lower than that of men in this type of employment.
Solutions for the promotion of senior entrepreneurship among women
Generación SAVIA has a number of initiatives whose main objective is to promote senior talent and eliminate the employment gap based on age. One of these is the +50 Emprende Awards, in collaboration with the production company 02.59 Films, which help to launch entrepreneurship projects promoted by senior professionals. These awards, which have just been declared for the fifth time, have resulted in more than 1,500 entrepreneurs submitting a total of 846 projects more than in the four previous editions.
Generación SAVIA provides guidance and training specifically aimed at women over 50 years of age who decide to become entrepreneurs, which is essential considering the double discrimination they are faced with. Elsa Novo de Miguel, project manager at the Endesa Foundation, states that "providing support and recognising the talent and experience of 50+ entrepreneurs is essential under the current circumstances. We not only help them to promote their projects, but also to enhance their role models so they are an inspiration for other women."
Ana Cabezas, an example and role model for a senior entrepreneur
Generación SAVIA provides numerous examples of senior entrepreneurs whose experiences can serve as examples and an inspiration for other women in their situation. Ana Cabezas, aged 63, is the creator of "SOY calidad" and the winner of the latest edition of the +50 Emprende Awards, she considers that "she has always been an intra-entrepreneur". Ten years ago, Ana emigrated to Peru and discovered the need to implement ISO standard automation mechanisms. This led to the creation of "SOY calidad", a company that aims to help in the digitalisation of quality standards and improve organisational efficiency.
At first, Ana faced ageism, as she recounts in the first person in this video from the Endesa Foundation. A situation that never slowed her down, and this is why she points out that "although they tried to discriminate against me because of my age, I did not allow it, I showed them that I am as eager or more to learn and improve than someone younger. I may have wrinkles but the attitude towards life and desire only depends on oneself and not on time."
She encountered the high level of discrimination suffered by women in the workplace, "women represent 50% of the population and the workforce, so we should not be playing a secondary role in entrepreneurship because we also have everything it takes to continue on the path towards entrepreneurship".
The example of Ana, a determined, studious woman who has never lost hope or the desire to continue progressing, serves as an inspiration for many other women who, like her, are seeking to raise awareness of the values and capabilities that characterise them as women over 50 years of age and show that it is possible to be both a woman and an entrepreneur.
About Generación SAVIA
Generación SAVIA, the ENDESA Foundation project in collaboration with the máshumano Foundation, has been promoting the employability of workers over 50 for five years, providing solutions through training and networking activities and promoting recognition of the value of these professionals, who suffer high rates of unemployment. SAVIA is a platform and community in which collaborative spaces are created and initiatives come together to create job opportunities for senior professionals. It also provides human resources solutions for Spain's social and business fabric. 43,000 senior professionals and 680 companies are registered with SAVIA and there are 190 entities providing resources and tools in collaboration with the project.