ABSTRACT
The increased research interest in women’s entrepreneurship, motivated by the phenomenal rise of women’s enterprises, is very much a US story. From 5 per cent in the early 1970s to approaching 40 per cent today is indeed a remarkable change. Also in Europe, there is, however, increased interest in women’s entrepreneurship as evidenced by many public policy initiatives. This is indeed the case for Sweden, but here it cannot be motivated by the rise in the number of female entrepreneurs. In 1980, 25 per cent of businesses in Sweden were women-owned, and historically the number was even higher, but they received very little public attention (Sundin and Holmquist 1989). Twenty years later, the number is about the same but the number of actors who engage in women’s entrepreneurship is substantial and the volume of discussion has exploded. Why is this? Two parallel developments in Sweden may have contributed. One is the increased public and government attention to equality questions. The other is the economic crisis of the 1990s, which made the entrepreneur the centre of attraction.
