Encourage and empower women on their individual career paths

24 October 2023 | Münster

Women are represented differently in society and professional life. The initiative "Female Empowerment & Entrepreneurship" aims to empower women on their individual career paths and in the start-up ecosystem.

Men and women are represented differently in society and also in professional life. Studies such as the "Female Founders Report" state that although more than half of all university graduates in Germany are female, only a few German companies have a female CEO or are founded by women. Our university is dedicated to this topic in research projects such as "Women Entrepreneurs Empowered to Lead", which examines the entrepreneurial behaviour of women in business and the support mechanisms for female founders in the start-up ecosystem. It is led by Dr Sue Rossano Rivero from the Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre. With the "Female Empowerment & Entrepreneurship" initiative, this is now also being followed by bundling and promotion at the university-internal level. Sandra Fuchs, start-up coach in the team of FH Münster and TAFH Münster GmbH, is coordinating the project in cooperation with Iklime Düx, Central Equal Opportunities Officer, and Rossano Rivero. The Career Service of our university is also involved.

"We want to promote the self-confidence of our female students, graduates, and employees and strengthen their mindset for leadership positions and start-ups," says Fuchs, a self-employed consultant, coach, and trainer. "Often, it's a heightened sense of security, combined with the question of whether a woman can hold her own in a leadership position or start-up. We want to counteract that." One focus here is on expanding and strengthening networks for women inside and outside FH Münster. Fuchs is concerned with "closing a gap", as she says.

In addition to the "münster gründet!" network, the REACH - EUREGIO Start-up Center, in which the University of Münster and FH Münster University of Applied Sciences are partners, offers inter-university networking. In November, for example, the Women's Empowerment Convention will take place at the Atlantic Hotel in Münster, focusing on the representation and visibility of women in entrepreneurship, the start-up scene, leadership, and innovation. "The event was fully booked within two weeks," says Fuchs. "We expect 200 visitors. That shows there is a great need for the topic." With networking events such as the Women Empowerment Breakfast, Fuchs also organises events as part of the initiative that "provide an empowerment space for women". "In the start-up scene, many areas are male-dominated: there are still predominantly male investors, venture capitalists, mentors, and coaches. In the events, female founders can meet, share their experiences, problems, and obstacles, and find solutions together." Accordingly, the long-term goal of female actors at FH Münster is also to establish more mentors who bring a female perspective to individual career paths and start-ups.

"Our events are aimed at women, but men are also expressly invited. We want to break down stereotypes and build up a self-understanding of our own competencies," says Düx. It is important to discuss and change the view of gender roles in families, society, and professional life in the long term.

WE.Lead - Women Entrepreneurs Empowered to Lead. The project aims to increase the number of women in leadership positions and supporting women entrepreneurs in launching and expanding their ventures. We want to inspire entrepreneurial thinking and acting in women and equip them with the tools needed to increase their impact through leadership and entrepreneurship. Project's objectives:

• Encourage and support women to innovate within organisations
• Make the entrepreneurial ecosystem more inclusive for women
• Promote diversity and inclusion in different contexts
• Inspire entrepreneurial thinking and acting in women

WeRin. Project's objectives:

• Increase the share of female graduate entrepreneurs and ensure they are firmly integrated in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems across Europe.
• Inclusion of entrepreneurship education and support programmes from gender and structural perspective.
• Make women feel invited to the entrepreneurship scene while going beyond the boundaries of Higher Education into their regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and to ensure that female entrepreneurs can become a key part of these.

RestART Europe: Mentoring Second-chance Female Entrepreneurs to Restart the European Arts and Creative Sector. Project's objectives:

• Understand the status quo, needs, desires and skills needed from female entrepreneurs who seek a second chance, after business failure, in the arts and creative sector, and map the drivers and competencies that mentors should have when providing mentoring to female entrepreneurs
• Bring together a community of European mentors with second-chance female entrepreneurs in an online and interactive platform and evaluate the relationship between mentors and second-chance female entrepreneurs (mentees)
• Providing guidance and training to mentors for successful integration in the development of mentoring to second chance female entrepreneurs