One-third of companies in the EU are founded by women.

Omissions

• The exact figure cited by the MEP (33% or one-third) could not be verified from official sources. The closest available data indicates approximately 30% of start-up entrepreneurs in the EU are women.
• The metric 'start-up entrepreneurs' differs slightly from 'companies founded by women' - the former refers to individuals starting businesses, while the latter would include all companies with female founders.
• Women constitute 34.4% of the self-employed in the EU according to the same source.
• The WEgate data represents a general trend but does not specify a precise reference year for the 30% figure.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission - Statistical Data on Women Entrepreneurs in EuropeWomen constitute the majority of one person enterprises (78%). Since 2008 there has been a slight increase of 3% of women entrepreneurs in the EU.
• SecondaryWEgate - European Gateway for Women's EntrepreneurshipWomen make up 52% of the total European population but only 34.4% of the European Union (EU) self-employed and 30% of start-up entrepreneurs.