Dell Technologies has released its latest findings for its Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index, the only global, gender-specific study that looks at a city’s ability to foster the growth of women-owned businesses. Building on annual research since 2010, Dell ranks cities based on the impact of local policies, programs and characteristics in addition to national laws and customs to help improve support for women entrepreneurs and the overall economy. The study found an overall improvement for women looking to establish and build their own businesses but noted that there is still significant room for improvement.
“When we invest in women, we invest in the future. Communities prosper, economies thrive and the next generation leads with purpose,” said Karen Quintos, EVP and chief customer officer at Dell Technologies. “By arming city leaders and policymakers with actionable, data-driven research on the landscape for women entrepreneurs, we can collectively accelerate the success of women-owned businesses by removing financial, cultural and political barriers.”
Building on 10 years of research on women entrepreneurs, Dell Technologies partnered with IHS Markit to research and rank 50 cities on five important characteristics, including access to Capital, Technology, Talent, Culture and Markets. These pillars were organized into two groups: operating environment and enabling environment. The overall rating is based on 71 indicators, 45 of which have a gender-based component. Individual indicators were weighted based on four criteria: relevance, quality of underlying data, uniqueness in the index and gender component.
All 50 cities made progress since 2017, however, some cities made bigger strides than others and the race to the top inevitably left some cities behind.
Even though it dropped slightly in rankings, Johannesburg’s position at 36 is more indicative of the increasing competition to attract women entrepreneurs. It ranks ahead of numerous international hubs and overtakes Nairobi, the only other African city in the top 50. Talent is one of Johannesburg’s strongest pillars. While the city ranked No.29 overall in 2019 for Talent, it was within the top 10 for women’s skill & experience overall.
• 78% of students at top universities are women in Johannesburg.
• Women in Johannesburg also make up considerable amount of the labor force employed in professional services (67%) and IT (65%)
In addition, more than a quarter of company boards in Johannesburg have women on them, a distinction shared with London, Sydney and Tel Aviv. Johannesburg also ranked 9th for the best market in terms of operating environment. From a city and national-level, policies for Culture, Technology and Markets have also been put in place to enable upward mobility for female entrepreneurs. These include:
• Government goals for women-owned business procurement
• Policy for “equal remuneration for work of equal value”
• Policy for “non-discrimination based on gender in hiring”
• Presence of a paid maternity leave policy
• Presence of open data initiatives
“Johannesburg is a business powerhouse, both in Africa and across the world,” said Doug Woolley, Dell EMC SA’s general manager. “It’s also a giant melting-pot and is known for its cosmopolitan and progressive attitudes. These are some of the reasons why it is more attractive and welcoming to all entrepreneurs, including women. Its inclusion in the 2019 Women Entrepreneur Cities findings shows that significance, but it’s also a reminder that much more can be done. AT Dell Technologies, we’ll keep being part of that movement until Jozi is number one!”
Globally, lack of funding, high cost of living, low representation of women in leadership roles, and the lack of government-led policies that support women entrepreneurs were among the barriers cited. Yet all the cities produced positive change among their major indicators. It reveals momentum in the right direction. As women rise to take up more roles as entrepreneurs and leaders, those cities that can attract such talent will have the brightest futures of all.
Advocating for Women Entrepreneurs
The 2017 to 2019 WE Cities Index results highlight the successes and challenges that each city faces, and where cities can learn best practices from one another. These key learnings, if supported by local governments, can add up to big changes for women-owned businesses, globally.
Based on the findings and comparison between the 2017-2019 indices, Dell Technologies has developed a set of WE Cities Policy Recommendations focused on three areas, including:
● Access to and the development of financial and human capital.
● Private and public sectors role in increasing access to local and global networks and markets.
● How government and business leaders can help women entrepreneurs thrive in the changing-face of technology.
About WE Cities
Dell Technologies partnered with IHS Markit — a leading source of insight and analytics that shape today’s business landscape — to launch this first-of-its-kind, global research that will measure a city’s ability to attract and support high-potential women entrepreneurs.
Research for WE Cities began during the 2016 DWEN Research Symposium chaired by Dr. David Ricketts from the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. The research symposium brought together 40 global thought leaders, women entrepreneurs, academics and media to develop insights for the model. Key takeaways from the conversations at the Symposium included:
● Access to capital is still the No. 1 challenge that women entrepreneurs face, although the numbers are showing a slight improvement
● Creating robust ecosystems with incubators, accelerators and mentors makes a world of difference for entrepreneurs — it’s all about the network
● Cultural norms and their policy implications put serious binds on female entrepreneurs
● Talent, both in terms of the entrepreneurs’ own talent, including education and experience, and having access to a skilled staff also resonated as highly important
The successful pilot of the 2016 Index led to the scaling for the 2017 Index to include 50 cities and the re-measuring and ranking for 2019.
About the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network
As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell Technologies is committed to help power the success of entrepreneurs by developing technology solutions that enable human potential. Through the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, Dell Technologies supports and nurtures a community of female entrepreneurs by providing access to technology, networks and capital. Learn more here.
About the Annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Summit
Dell Technologies is excited to host the 10th annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) Summit in Singapore from July 14-16, 2019. Over 150 female founders, CEOs,
dignitaries, Dell Technologies leaders and more will convene to connect and discuss today’s pressing topics. Through inspiring keynotes, informative panels and innovative workshops, the 2019 DWEN Summit will be the go-to resource for support and solutions that facilitate entrepreneurship. It is Dell Technologies’ mission to bring vital knowledge and tailored technology for women-led companies small and large. For more on the event, please click here.
About Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) is a unique family of businesses that helps organizations and individuals build their digital future and transform how they work and live. The company provides customers with the industry’s broadest and most innovative technology and services portfolio spanning from edge to core to cloud. The Dell Technologies family includes Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream and VMware.
