Women's entrepreneurship is one of the most closely watched forces in the global economy, but "where women thrive as founders" has no single answer; it depends on whether you're measuring participation, capital access, policy support, or survival odds. The clearest current picture comes from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's 2024/2025 Women's Entrepreneurship Report, surveying 160,000+ adults across 51 countries.
In 2024, 10.7% of women globally were engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship, led by Ecuador at 32%, with Argentina, Canada, Chile, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand all above 20%. Counterintuitively, low-income countries had the highest participation (15.5%) while high-income countries had the lowest (9.2%), wage employment and rigid corporate structures dampen startup activity even where capital and infrastructure are strongest.
A persistent gender gap runs through all of it: women were about 20% less likely than men to start a business (10.7% vs. 13.2%), widest in Europe and narrowest in Latin America & the Caribbean and Central/East Asia. And the "why" matters as much as the "where,” 71.1% of women cited job scarcity and 57.3% cited wealth-building as their top motivations, rising above 90% in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Thailand, and Venezuela. Necessity-driven ventures like these tend to be smaller and shorter-lived than opportunity-driven ones, which is a meaningful distinction for any "best places" ranking.
The fastest-moving markets right now are the Gulf states and Morocco--Saudi Arabia's women's startup rate hit 23.2% and the UAE's hit 14.8% in 2024 on the back of national gender-inclusion policy, while Morocco posted the single largest jump globally, from 4.5% to 12.5% in one year. Structural barriers still shape outcomes everywhere, though--women are almost 50% more likely than men to exit a business for family or personal reasons, women in Romania, Slovakia, and Switzerland were at least three times more likely than men to cite financing problems, and women remain sharply underrepresented in ICT founding (2.3% vs. 6.1% for men) and as recipients of informal investment.
Layering in broader context--Denmark, Iceland, and Norway top the 2025/26 Women, Peace and Security Index for women's overall status, a ranking that tracks closely with entrepreneurial support systems like parental leave and financial inclusion. Chile leads OECD countries specifically on female entrepreneurship share. And for founders weighing general startup infrastructure, the US, UK, and Israel top StartupBlink's 2026 ecosystem index, while Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands lead WhereNext's 2026 entrepreneur-friendliness ranking.
Wealthier markets like the US, Canada, and much of Europe see fewer women start businesses, but better-resourced, more innovation-oriented ones when they do. Lower-income markets--Ecuador, Guatemala, much of Latin America and the Gulf--see far more women founding businesses, largely out of necessity, facing steeper odds on financing and survival. Watch Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Morocco for the fastest year-over-year movement.
Last week we looked at women taking up space in male-dominated fields, this week, we're pouring one (pun intended) out for the women founders doing it in beverage. From spirits to sober-curious sips, women are reshaping an industry that's historically been an "old boys' club," as one recent industry roundup put it.
Annabel Thomas built Nc'nean Distillery into one of Scotch whisky's most talked-about names, certified organic, B Corp-certified, and proof that sustainability and single malt aren't mutually exclusive.
Fawn Weaver turned Uncle Nearest into a household name in American whiskey, and she's still expanding her footprint, most recently backing another female founder, Caroline Foulk of Beer Girl, after a Shark Tank pitch, with the brand aiming to give women a lighter beer option.
Yola Jimenez co-founded Yola Mezcal, building a sustainable, socially responsible mezcal brand from the ground up in a category still dominated by legacy names.
Down in Oaxaca, Gaby Arce, Gabriela Lawrence, and Mia Tonelli partnered with maestra mezcalera Margarita Blas to launch Doce Mezcal, one of several women-led spirits brands proving, as that piece notes, that "women-led brands are the primary drivers of new, underserved market segments."
On the non-alcoholic side:
Fay Behbehani founded Bonbuz, bringing bold, globally-inspired flavors to the booze-free social drink category, a space she says she built after craving daring flavors she couldn't find elsewhere.
Tati Mercer and Meeta Gournay co-founded Three Spirit, makers of adaptogenic "social elixirs" designed to replace the ritual of a drink without the alcohol.
And Lexie Lancaster Larsen, Abbey Ferguson, and Lauren Chitwood built Spiritless, a non-alcoholic spirits brand tackling the "what do I sip instead of a cocktail" gap head-on.
This is a fast-moving space. Women of the Vine & Spirits just expanded its 2026 leadership series specifically because the beverage-alcohol industry is being reshaped by shifting consumer behavior and new routes to market, and women are increasingly the ones setting that pace, not just responding to it.
Time to get cozy... with yourself!
Fall has a way of nudging us to slow down--shorter days, cooler air, and the perfect excuse to swap hustle for hygge. Try building a cozy new routine, whether it's a nature walk to soak up the changing leaves or a screen-free evening with tea and a good book. If the seasonal shift stirs up bigger feelings, that's worth tending to as well. However you mark the season, a little intentional coziness goes a long way.
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