The report Women’s Entrepreneurship in Italy, published by Unioncamere, Centro Studi Guglielmo Tagliacarne and Si.Camera, shows that women-led businesses are not a marginal feature of the Italian economy, but a stable and increasingly significant part of it.
As of 31 December 2024, Italy had just over 1.3 million women-led enterprises, representing 22.2% of all businesses nationwide. This share has remained broadly stable over time, but the longer-term trend is particularly revealing. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of women-led firms increased slightly by 0.4%, while non-female businesses declined by 3.6%. In a decade marked by economic pressure and structural change, women’s entrepreneurship has proven more resilient than much of the wider business landscape.
Women-led firms also play a significant role in employment, particularly in supporting women’s participation in the labour market. Within these businesses, 53.8% of employees are women, compared with 38.7% in other firms. This suggests that women entrepreneurs are not only strengthening their own position within the productive system, but are also contributing more broadly to improving gender balance in employment.
At the same time, important structural challenges remain. Women’s entrepreneurship in Italy is a relatively recent phenomenon that is now firmly established, with 81% of active women-led businesses created in the new millennium. However, this trend is not being renewed evenly across generations. The number of women-led firms run by entrepreneurs under 35 has fallen by 24.5% over the past decade, pointing to a weakening pipeline of younger entrepreneurs.
The sectoral and territorial profile is equally significant. Women-led businesses are concentrated mainly in the service sector, which accounts for 72.6% of such enterprises, and show a stronger presence in the South of Italy, where 36.6% of female businesses are located. This reflects both economic opportunities and long-standing structural patterns, with women still more represented in services, hospitality, education and care-related activities.
In terms of size, the vast majority of women-led businesses remain very small. Around 96.2% are micro-enterprises, and 60.5% are sole proprietorships. However, this does not capture the full picture. Over the past decade, the number of women-led limited companies has grown by 45%, pointing to a gradual shift towards more structured and scalable business models. Growth has also been recorded in knowledge-intensive sectors such as consultancy, technical services, education and ICT, suggesting an entrepreneurial landscape that is evolving rather than remaining static.
Motivations for entrepreneurship are also changing. Increasingly, women are starting businesses out of choice rather than necessity. For 37% of women entrepreneurs, starting a business is primarily a form of self-realisation, while 27% see it as an alternative to salaried employment. In most cases, entrepreneurial activity builds on prior professional experience, indicating a more mature and intentional approach to business creation.
The Italian chamber system - including Unioncamere and Si.Camera - plays an active role in supporting women’s entrepreneurship through training, mentoring and dedicated initiatives. These efforts have contributed to strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem and expanding opportunities for women across the country, helping to consolidate the progress observed in recent years.
At the same time, the data suggests that further action is needed to fully unlock the potential of women’s entrepreneurship. Key challenges remain in terms of business growth, generational renewal and access to more advanced and high-productivity sectors. Addressing these issues will be essential to ensure that the growing presence of women-led businesses can translate into stronger competitiveness, innovation and long-term economic impact.
Women’s entrepreneurship is no longer a niche phenomenon, but a structural component of Italy’s economic system. The policy challenge now is not simply to increase its size, but to support its evolution - enabling more women-led businesses to grow, innovate and compete at scale.