Prairie women of the entrepreneurial world should have given themselves a pat on the back last week as part of the Saskatchewan Women Entrepreneurs Week from May 5-11.
"It's important to celebrate the success of women entrepreneurs," said June Draude, Minister responsible for the Status of Women. "They are an important part of growing our province and we want to encourage them to maybe do something in their life that they hadn't planned on, such as starting a business."
According to Draude, approximately 15 percent of businesses in Saskatchewan are owned by women, which she says isn't a high enough number.
"Women are leaders in so many ways," she said. "Increasing that percentage is important and although they face different challenges than men, they bring different skills and viewpoints to the table."
It's actually because of these challenges and opportunities that Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. was formed. The organization is non-profit and according to their website, focuses on helping women "achieve their entrepreneurial goals."
"Things have improved, but there's still a need for recognition of the contributions women have made," said Laura Small, CEO of the organization. "We've made tremendous progress, but it's not always an equal playing field."
This sort of imbalance becomes particularly obvious when observing the trades or construction industries. Whether it's due to a lack of interest or a lack of opportunities, most, if not all of those fields are male-dominated.
"There may never be total equality across all sectors," said Small. "But there has been tremendous growth in women-owned businesses and we're happy to celebrate that."
Fortunately, Humboldt enjoys a large percentage of businesses owned by women and they have become building blocks of the community. Businesses such as Jenga'z Salon, Elite Salon & Spa, Wheeler's Wholesale Ltd., Monico Cresting Inc., Diamonds of Detroit, etc. are all owned by women.
"This week is important because there are so many women entrepreneurs and I think that the statistics show that women are excellent entrepreneurs," said Michelle Bankowski, owner of Diamonds of Detroit. "They're more detail oriented and certainly a growing sector."
According to a report by Industry Canada, more than 34,100 women in 2013 were self-employed. While that number may be growing, it's still not enough to balance out the different gender representations in industries.
"Women work hard running their business and then some go home to run their families as well," said Lana Muggli, owner of Brickhouse Clothing, in an email response. "It's a lot of work being an entrepreneur, it takes many hours and dedication to do something you love."
One of the bigger challenges women face when it comes to starting their business is obtaining financing. According to Small, banks are usually asset-based lenders, which is difficult for women who don't have as many assets and aren't looking to start that type of business.
"The goal there is to create specific services for women," said Small. "Ideally, there wouldn't have been a difference (between genders) 10 years ago. Since there was, we work towardswomen being involved in all aspects and all types of economy."
Thus, despite the challenges women face entering the business world, it's becoming apparent that the trend is growing.
"With the human resource shortage, women are very important," said Bankowski. "They are very tuned into their staff and into their team and they're good cheerleaders."
