A study from the Consumer Internet Bank of Canada shows that women are starting businesses later in life
Many people think of self-employment as a young man's game, but a recent study from the Consumer Internet Bank of Canada shows that, quite the opposite, self-employment is increasingly popular among older women.
CIBC officials think that widespread pursuit of post-secondary education is delaying Canadian entry into the labour markets, and women are one of the fastest growing groups of highly educated entrepreneurs breaking into the business world.
The study shows that the average age of a self-employed woman is roughly 41, and the fastest growing group of self-employed Canadian women is the over 55 crowd - with an annual growth rate of 4 percent since 1989. In fact, the number of women 35 and older who are self-employed increased at a significantly greater rate than that of men the same age between 1989 and 2004.
Study authors suggest this later-in-life entrepreneurial activity directly correlates with increasing educational pursuits among Canadian women. The number of females holding university degrees and post-secondary certificates has grown at an annual rate of 10 percent since 1990.
Hopefully, older, educated female entrepreneurs - and all Canadian small business owners - will help the nation continue its path out of economic turmoil. A report from Statistics Canada suggests the economy is on the rise as real GDP increased by 1.2 percent at the end of 2009.
