Samenvatting

International business has become highly important. However, women entrepreneurs are less involved in international business than men. Therefore, this research was conducted for the women’s network and the department of international economic affairs of VNO-NCW / MKB-Nederland to provide an answer to the central research question: “To what extent are female entrepreneurs and managers in the Netherlands involved in international business and trade missions and how can this be improved?”.
In order to collect the desired information, qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used. Desk research has been performed to obtain general information and facts and figures about the subject “Women and International Business”. In addition, twelve interviews have been conducted to provide more in-depth, personal views about this topic. At last, a survey has been carried out during the research.
Firstly, several reasons that explain why women are less involved in international business than men can be identified. A first explanation is that 75% of all Dutch employed women work part-time. As a result, the chance of obtaining promotion to an executive position decreases. Secondly, the sectors in which many women are employed plays a role. Thirdly, the number of women starting their own business as a self-employed entrepreneur is rising. However, these are still small-sized firms. Fourthly, biased opinions and non-acceptance of full-time employed mothers in society can hold women back as well.
In addition, it has been investigated which obstacles women encounter most frequently when doing business internationally. The bottlenecks that are most frequently encountered by women when doing business internationally can be divided into three main topics: biased opinions from their surrounding, cultural differences in other countries and differences in government regulation when doing business abroad.
Lastly, the role of the government and private organisations has been investigated. Useful information, events and online tools are provided by several of these organisations. In addition, trade missions are organised regularly. Although a range of possibilities is available on the internet, it seems to be a labyrinth. In addition, incentives to stimulate female international entrepreneurship do not always yield the expected results.