Auckland, Aug 28 (The Conversation) This year Aotearoa New Zealand saw the highest rate of business closures since 2015, with 10,662 companies removed from the Company's Office quarterly register. During the second quarter of 2024, company removals increased by 2,786 (a 35.6% increase) compared to the same period last year.
But the closures have not been felt equally. Female entrepreneurs have been particularly hard hit. High-profile women-owned businesses such as Supy, Sunfed and Mina have all closed their doors.
According to one global report, family commitments, as well as the pandemic, posed bigger hurdles for women entrepreneurs than their male counterparts. In the survey spanning 49 countries, 18% of female entrepreneurs who quit or exited a business did so for personal and family reasons, compared to just 12.6% of men.
Our research examined the personal and family reasons behind women entrepreneurs' decision to exit their businesses. While the respondents we interviewed were based in the United Kingdom, the responses reflected experiences seen in New Zealand and elsewhere. We found women entrepreneurs were often felt they had no option other than to exit or close their business if they wanted to preserve a viable home life.
Household demands We interviewed 16 women founders in the UK who exited their startups for personal reasons largely unrelated to financial or performance issues. These reasons typically involved balancing household and business demands, and often in.