Government statistics show that over six hundred thousand women in Australia operate their own small business.
Small business plays an important role in the economy, employing around 4.5 million people and driving innovation across the country. According to a 2015 ABS report, A Profile of Australian Women in Business, the number of women business operators in Australia has increased by 46% in the last decade – compared to just 27% for male business owners – and they now make up over a third (thirty four percent), of all business operators. However, despite this increase in participation, it is also more common for women in business not to be able to afford to pay themselves a wage, not to make contributions to their superannuation and not to have adequate insurance to cover the personal and commercial risks of running their small business.