New research from Mastercard, released ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, reveals half (51%) of women worldwide have considered running their own business. This increases significantly among women in younger generations, with Gen Z (71%) and millennial (65%) women far more likely to say this than Gen X (49%) or Baby Boomers (34%). The data alludes to a generational shift, with younger people embracing entrepreneurship - half (48%) of Gen Z women believe their generation is more entrepreneurial than the generation before.

As well as formal business ventures, four in ten (42%) women globally want to start a side hustle to make money outside of their main job, again rising among Gen Z women (61%).

For many women, the entrepreneurial spirit is inspired by an appetite to earn more money (59%), gain financial independence (54%) and improve work-life flexibility (37%), but motivations differ among generations.

Purpose-led Gen Z

• Gen Z women are also most likely to want to start a business to do ‘something good for the world’ (20% vs. 16% millennials, 15% Gen X and 17% Baby Boomers).
• Of those who have already started their own business, Gen Z women are significantly more likely to say they did so to pursue their dream (49%) than Gen X (36%) or Baby Boomers (35%).
• Gen Z women founders are also more likely to say they were motivated by the belief their idea can change lives for the better (25% vs. 20% global women average).

In this vein, education and childcare are among the top sectors that Gen Z women would like to start a business in. The most popular industry is cosmetics and beauty – potentially driven by rise in beauty influencers on social media, with a 22% rise in beauty content on TikTok year-over-year*.

Top sectors Gen Z women would like to start a business in:

  1. Cosmetics (25% vs. 7% global average among women)
  2. Food & drink (18% vs. 16% global average among women)
  3. Online seller (17% vs. 16% global average among women)
  4. Education e.g. tutor (14% vs. 8% global average among women)
  5. Childcare (11% vs. 9% global average among women)

Barriers facing women entrepreneurs

Despite evident appetite for entrepreneurship, the research shows that for many women, including those who have already started a business, there are still barriers in place.

Women are less likely to say they feel confident in general business-related skills – particularly financial decision making (30% vs. 41% for men), public speaking (26% vs. 34%), networking (23% vs. 34%) and identifying new business opportunities (13% vs. 24%). 

This low confidence extends into running their own business. While lack of funding (34%) or financial resource (33%) are reported as the biggest challenges to women starting a business, women are more likely than men to say lack of confidence is a hurdle (26% vs. 22% of men).

Women who have already founded a business also say they struggle disproportionately with caring responsibilities and work-life balance, with women founders twice as likely as men to say childcare arrangements were a challenge when starting their business (12% vs. 6%). Women entrepreneurs are more likely than men to say they struggle to switch off from work (46% vs. 42%), find it harder to balance childcare (37% vs. 31%) and skip holidays for business (36% vs. 31%).

Support needed

Training on how to develop a business plan (28%) and more widely available and accessible grants (24%) would make women feel more confident in starting their own business.

Younger women are also more likely than older generations to feel they’d benefit from a support network, with 31% of Gen Z women saying having a business partner would make them more confident, and a similar proportion (29%) saying access to a mentor. Interestingly, these factors score even higher than access to grants (25%) for this generation.

Country Manager, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, Mastercard, said: “This research highlights the remarkable entrepreneurial spirit among women worldwide, particularly within younger generations. Despite the progress made by women entrepreneurs, the findings also underscore the challenges that still exist. These barriers emphasize the need for fast and meaningful change to create an environment where all entrepreneurs can thrive.

“Mastercard is committed to building an inclusive digital economy where small businesses are empowered with the solutions and support they need to grow and succeed.”

Across the world, Mastercard is spearheading numerous initiatives that support entrepreneurs. Since 2020, Mastercard has provided over 50 million small businesses including 37 million women entrepreneurs with support and solutions that can help them grow their businesses.