The latest Global Gender Gap Report for 2024, coupled with recent venture capital data, paints a mixed picture for women in business and entrepreneurship. While strides have been made in corporate leadership and professional roles, the startup landscape remains stubbornly uneven.
Global Trends: Slow But Steady Progress
The 2024 report reveals that women now occupy 42% of the global workforce, yet only 31.7% of senior leadership positions. This “drop to the top” phenomenon persists, with women well-represented at entry-level but scarcely present in C-suites.
More concerning is the backslide in leadership hiring. The percentage of women hired into leadership roles has fallen from 37.5% in 2022 to 36.4% in early 2024, a trend that could further widen the gender gap if left unchecked.
However, there are signs of improvement. The overall global gender gap score has marginally increased from 68.4% in 2023 to 68.5% in 2024. The Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex also saw a slight improvement, rising from 60.1% to 60.5%.
The Funding Chasm
Perhaps most stark is the disparity in venture capital funding. PitchBook data shows that in 2023, women-founded startups received a mere 2% or less of VC funding in both Europe and the United States. This figure is particularly troubling given the increasing number of women-led ventures.
There is, however, a silver lining. The volume of deals for women-founded teams has grown at twice the rate of all-male teams over the past decade. In Europe, women-only startups have increased their share of VC deals from 2.7% to 5% between 2008 and 2024, with the US seeing a similar rise from 3.8% to 5.4%.
Portugal: A Case Study in Progress and Potential
Portugal offers an intriguing case study, jumping from 32nd place in 2023 to 17th globally in gender parity in 2024. The country outperforms in certain areas, achieving full parity in professional and technical workers and boasting 36.85% women in senior official and managerial roles, up from 34.71% in 2023.
Yet, Portugal’s startup ecosystem tells a different story. Only 13.10% of firms have female majority ownership, and a mere 14% have women as top managers. These figures suggest that while Portugal has made strides in corporate settings, it has yet to fully unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs.
Comparative Analysis: Portugal vs Spain
The trajectory of Portugal and Spain from 2023 to 2024 offers a compelling study in the nuances of gender parity progress. Both countries have made significant strides, but in different areas and at different paces.
Overall Rankings: Spain has maintained its lead over Portugal, rising from 18th place globally in 2023 to 10th in 2024. This impressive jump of 8 places demonstrates Spain’s commitment to gender parity across various dimensions. Portugal, not to be outdone, has made an even more dramatic leap, surging from 32nd place in 2023 to 17th in 2024 – a remarkable improvement of 15 places. This suggests that Portugal’s recent efforts to address gender disparities have been particularly effective.
Economic Participation and Opportunity: In this crucial subindex, Portugal has outperformed Spain, ranking 27th globally compared to Spain’s 45th position. This represents a significant improvement for Portugal, which ranked 34th in this category in 2023. Spain, while still lagging behind Portugal in this area, has also made progress, moving up from 48th place in 2023.
Leadership and Managerial Roles: Portugal has shown particular strength in increasing women’s representation in senior and managerial positions. The percentage of women in these roles in Portugal rose from 34.71% in 2023 to 36.85% in 2024. Spain, while still impressive, saw a smaller increase from 34.71% to 34.72%. This suggests that Portugal’s policies aimed at promoting women to leadership positions are yielding results more rapidly than Spain’s.
Board Membership: Spain maintains an edge in board diversity, with 35.70% of board seats held by women, compared to Portugal’s 33.30%. However, it’s worth noting that Portugal has closed the gap significantly since 2023, when its figure stood at 31.90%.
Entrepreneurship and Business Ownership: Portugal leads in fostering female entrepreneurship, with 13.10% of firms having majority female ownership, compared to 10.10% in Spain. This gap has widened since 2023, indicating that Portugal’s efforts to support women entrepreneurs are gaining momentum.
Wage Equality: Spain performs better in perceived wage equality for similar work, ranking 47th globally compared to Portugal’s 78th position. This suggests that while Portugal is making strides in representation, there’s still work to be done in ensuring equal pay.
Educational Attainment: Both countries perform exceptionally well in this area, with Spain ranking 41st and Portugal 68th. However, both have achieved near parity, with scores of 0.998 and 0.994 respectively.
The comparative analysis reveals that while Spain maintains an overall lead, Portugal is rapidly closing the gap and even surpassing Spain in some crucial areas. Portugal’s dramatic improvement in overall ranking and its strengths in economic participation and entrepreneurship suggest that its targeted policies are bearing fruit. Spain, meanwhile, continues to set a high bar, particularly in board diversity and political empowerment.
As both countries continue their journey towards gender parity, they offer valuable lessons for each other and for Europe as a whole. Portugal’s rapid progress in economic participation and Spain’s sustained excellence in board diversity and political representation provide models for other nations seeking to improve their own gender parity scores. The challenge for both countries now is to maintain this momentum and address their respective areas of weakness to achieve more comprehensive gender equality.
The Road Ahead
For Portugal to advance its position and foster a more equitable business environment, several key areas demand attention:
- Increased access to venture capital for women-led startups.
- Targeted programs to boost female entrepreneurship.
- Policies to support the ascension of women to top management positions.
- Initiatives to address unconscious bias in investment decisions.
The global trend towards greater representation of women in deal flow suggests that countries and companies that fail to support women entrepreneurs risk missing out on a significant pool of talent and innovation.
As we move further into 2024, it’s clear that closing the gender gap is not just a matter of equality, but of economic imperative. The projected time to reach full parity has increased from 131 years in 2023 to 134 years in 2024, underscoring the need for accelerated efforts.
For Portugal, the opportunity is clear. By addressing the existing gaps in its startup ecosystem and building on its strengths in corporate leadership, the country could position itself as a leader in gender parity and a hub for women-led innovation in Europe. The significant improvement in its global ranking demonstrates that targeted efforts can yield substantial results, providing a blueprint for further progress in the years to come.