A study released by the Office of Advocacy of the SBA affirms what I have been seeing with many young women from Generation Y in our program here at Belmont. They view entrepreneurship as a career path that gives them more control over their lives and the ability to more effectively balance work and family.
The study, written by Tami Gurley- Calvez, Katherine Harper, and Amelia Biehl, found that self-employed women are able to spend more time with their children and families, compared to their wage-and-salary earning counterparts. The study finds that self-employed women spend about 3.5 more hours per week in household activities than wage-and-salary earning women do, and six more hours than men do.
“Previous studies have established that women enter self-employment for reasons other than potential earnings and that life-style factors heavily influence their decision,” said Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “This study documents that self-employed women’s time-use patterns are in fact different from those of wage-and-salary earning women. Self-employed women spend less time on work-related activities and more time on household activities and child care.”