Women entrepreneurs in Taiwan have been increasing in number in recent years. They demonstrate distinctive ways of operating their businesses and hold different perspectives on how success is defined. However, throughout their entrepreneurial journeys, many still face gender bias, difficulties in accessing resources and funding, balancing family responsibilities. These obstacles have yet to be systematically explored and documented.
Her Attitude Taiwan Women Entrepreneurs Empowerment Association partnered withThe Social Investment Consultancy（TSIC )conduct the 2025 Taiwan Women Entrepreneurship Survey, aiming to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape of women entrepreneurs in Taiwan. The survey not only examines industry types, enterprise scale, and operational performance, but also explores women entrepreneurs’ values, lifestyles, and the challenges they face in relation to gender roles.
We hope this study will highlight the diversity and genuine needs of women entrepreneurs, offering valuable insights for policymakers, HR teams, and sustainability departments to build more inclusive support systems. We seek to bring together like-minded partners in shaping an ecosystem that embraces innovation, social impact, and gender inclusivity.
This study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods.
targeting women entrepreneurs from across Taiwan.
A total of 400 valid questionnaires were collected
and in-depth interviews were conducted with 8 experienced women entrepreneurs.
Covers a diverse range of industries and businesses of varying sizes.
Participant Profile
How many paid staff members do you currently have (full-time and part-time)?
With lower barriers to starting a business, solo entrepreneurship is on the rise and is becoming a key part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Q: Beyond your internal team members, do you work with long-term external partners such as part-time staff, consultants, or freelancers?
They are no longer bound by fixed offices or conventional employment structures, but are made up of diverse professionals who collaborate flexibly based on the tasks at hand.
The traditional employment model is rapidly shifting towards a new organizational approach centred on collaborative relationships.
Wellness Industry
Taiwan’s entrepreneurial environment is slowly being reshaped by female founders themselves
driving a gentle transformation
台灣的創業環境
正在透過女性自主力量
慢慢推進一場
柔韌而堅定的變革
Q: Research shows that the proportion of female entrepreneurs in Taiwan is increasing. What do you think are the main reasons for this trend?
The growth of female founders
is driven by social and cultural momentum,
rather than policy.
The survey shows that the motivations behind women’s entrepreneurship are not driven by any single policy or economic condition, but are influenced more by thegrowing awareness of women’s independence。
The majority of respondents indicated that the increase in female entrepreneurial role models and the widespread adoption of digital technologies are the primary drivers, that lowered barriers and making entrepreneurship more accessible to women. Meanwhile, the strong emphasis on “diverse role expectations” suggests that society’s perceptions of women’s roles are gradually shifting, giving women more freedom to pursue entrepreneurship.
In contrast, fewer than25%of respondents cited government policies or the overall economic environment as key drivers.Female entrepreneurship appears to be driven more by bottom-up effortsthan by government policy.
Postnatal Care Industry
Q: How much impact do the following common cultural norms have on you when starting a business?
The traditional stereotypes of women
are no longer the chains
restraining female entrepreneurship in Taiwan
For each item measuring gender bias,the highest proportion of responses fell under “1 point (no impact at all),”Among the statements “Entrepreneurship is only for men,” “Women are responsible for caregiving and therefore have no time to start a business,” “Women should have family support before starting a business,” and “Women are too emotional to be good leaders,” over 60% of respondents selected “no impact at all.”This shows that self-identity and family role–related biases have minimal effect on most female entrepreneurs, who are generally free from traditional constraints.。
However,When it comes to access to business resources and networking, some women still experience notable bias.Looking at the proportion of 4–5 point responses:
Approximately 28.6% of respondents reported that business drinking culture brings pressure for women entrepreneurs, limiting their participation and networking opportunities.
Approximately 29.9% of respondents indicated that women entrepreneurs receive less support and fewer resources compared to men.
Approximately 23.1% of respondents reported being overlooked in business negotiations and funding opportunities.
Approximately 23.6% of respondents indicated that freelancing or side hustles are often perceived as not real entrepreneurship.
Although women are breaking free from traditional ideas about their personal and family roles,they still face structural barriers when it comes to accessing resources and expanding their networks,emphasising the need for stronger support from policymakers, investors, and other relevant stakeholders.
Tech Industry
Based on the data from “How challenging are the following factors for you?”ratings of 3 to 5 were high among respondents.This indicates that,even as traditional gender stereotypes gradually diminish, female entrepreneurs still face structural challenges in their operations.difficulty securing funding, limited access to mentorship, exclusion from professional networks.等面向，仍存在明顯的不對等現象。
The top three motivations for female entrepreneurs were “interest and self-fulfilment,” “flexible working hours,” and “financial independence.” In the importance ratings, “balancing family and work,” “autonomy in working,” and “personal growth and sense of achievement” also received relatively high scores.
By contrast, “limited employment opportunities” and “difficulty integrating into the traditional workplace” received lower ratings. Overall, the results suggest that a focus on quality of life and self-worth is a key driver of female entrepreneurship.
整體而言，多數女性創業者並非因為缺乏選擇而被迫創業，而是主動設計自己的人生與工作方式。創業不再只是「生存手段」，而是實現理想生活與自我價值的一條積極路徑，也反映出台灣正從「經濟壓力驅動」逐漸轉向「價值導向」與「生活願景驅動」，創業思維也更趨成熟與多元化。
Agriculture Industry
Happiness and a sense of accomplishment
且有成就感
Achieving annual income goals
Having the freedom to live the life you want
自己想要
的生活
Having flexibility in their work schedule
時間安排
Work–life balance
在「創業成功的判斷標準」中，最多受訪者選擇「自己過得開心且有成就感」（49.7%）作為首要指標，其次為「年收入達標」（40.3%）與「能自由地過自己想要的生活」（31.1%），「彈性時間安排」（26.8%）與「生活與工作取得平衡」（25.8%）也占有相當高的比例
相對地，「員工數量」、「被媒體報導或具高知名度」等外在成就的重視度明顯偏低，顯示女性創業者的成功定義並不以規模、名氣或外部認可為主，而是以個人幸福感、生活自主性與自我實現為核心。
傳統上，成功往往被衡量於 企業規模、營收增長、資金募集能力、上市上櫃或獲取外界認可，也就是「外在成就導向」。相比之下，女性創業者更關注 內在滿足、生活品質與自主掌控感。她們的成功標準 不是追求名氣或資本擴張，而是創造一個可自由安排生活、兼顧家庭與自我實現的工作方式。
Place making
Up to 78.7% of respondents, using digital tools intensively or frequently, include social media marketing, AI, or digital platforms as central or important support in their business operations.
Most female entrepreneurs focus their innovation on service innovation (40%) rather than developing entirely new products (12.6%), indicating that their entrepreneurial approach centres on service design, user experience, and business model innovation, rather than capital-intensive technology or product R&D.
Their business strategies are not solely focued on profit; they aim to balance financial performance with social value or environmental impact. This approach also reflects women’s multitasking abilities and their capacity to consider multiple dimensions.
Female entrepreneurs do not see scaling up as the only target; they focus on running their businesses steadily while deepening value. They tend to adopt sustainable, flexible, and relationship-oriented approaches, prioritizing long-term impact and social value, rather than chasing rapid or high-risk expansion.
長照產業
Q: 您有多認同以下關於在台灣創業的描述？
女性創業者對於台灣創業環境
持積極態度
但制度與性別友善仍待加強
女性創業者們對於台灣的創業環境普遍抱持積極態度，35.3% 的受訪者高度認同「創業的機會很多」與「對失敗的恐懼不會阻止我創業」，展現出她們對自身創業意願與能力的高度信心。
然而，相較於個人層面的主動性與自信，她們對「制度支持」與「性別友善環境」的評價平均僅約 3 分，顯示在台灣的政策推動與創業生態建構上，仍有進一步改善與優化的空間。
旅遊產業
家人支持與性別壓力影響有限。家人不支持：46.8% 選 1 → 多數女性並未因家人意見受阻
來自男性的壓力或騷擾：56.6% 選 1 → 大多數女性認為這不是阻礙
另一方面，缺乏技能/知識、呈現高度分散。選 1～5 的比例較均衡，沒有單一答案占主導，顯示創業者在這些面向上的經驗差異大。
形式上的女性導向，實質上缺乏針對性
形式上的女性導向
實質上缺乏針對性
社群支持的質與量不足，雖然已有「女性創業社群」出現，但相較於男性主導的創業網絡，影響力和資源密度還是較低。
新創圈環境讓人感覺預設創業者都沒有家庭沒有小孩，都可以全時投入，但事實並非如此
職訓局對二度就業婦女的補助幫助到我們很多，但在後續就業的協助與跟進感受上是零。
之前有參加過另一個女性創業者為主的協會舉辦的講座，覺得幾個小時下來沒有感受到很明確關於「女性創業者」的相關議題。我覺得把講師、聽眾侷限在「女性」只是形式上到位
女性創業的內容有時貼近生活需求，如餐飲、月嫂等，這些在補助上都有法規的漏洞無法可補
資源存在，但模式過於單一
多數回饋指出台灣已有女性創業支持團體、補助與計畫，但形式大同小異，重複性高，缺乏創新或多元化。
有些創業者認為現有資源更多集中在有背景、有實力或特定產業（如科技、新創）的創業者手中，對初期或小型創業者的支持有限。
大多還是集中在以男性更為吃香的科技業（數位產品）
缺乏明確女性視角為主的商會或創業團體，至少目前還沒遇到目標明確、資源穩定成長的匯聚女性（或能自由切換陰陽能量面向的人）包含專業自由工作者/創業者聯盟的相關組織。能發揮商業與人脈、不僅關注自身利益還能平衡社會與環境、不透支身心健康平衡。如果有一個能跨界連結又安全的商業社群，並有核心理念的支持，團體中的人們都有相同的價值觀跟共識。那聽起來蠻美好的🌟想成為這片海中的一滴水💧
性別偏見仍然潛藏於有形無形中
在我學習經營、行銷的過程中，絕大多數看到的是男性顧問與教練，而女性成功人士更偏向在特定產業的領導者，而非專門提供商業知識的導師。而在「針對女性研發服務與產品上」，也很少看到專攻女性市場的相關課程或服務，但卻會依照服務與課程內容預設受眾為女性，性別變成默認的服務或產品分類選項，這件事情本身是中性的結果，但也反應了台灣缺少一個完整從零到落地的女性創業與商業模式
我出去演出時結束常被冷落，大家都只想認識男性音樂人，我當我說出我是音樂人沒有人認真看待，一直要到他們知道我在大學兼課才會轉換態度
創業需要參加的講座講師經常為男性，有些在課程中會帶入沒有數據/論點支持的性別偏見言論。但又是申請創業資金必要學分，不曉得有多少人就這樣吸收偏見並代入創業市場的認知，造成偏見複製。
家庭責任的隱形門檻
很少有中小型關懷據點給予在創業中過渡期的媽媽
嘗試過各種不同群體，但都需投入大量時間經營，不免犧牲家庭生活
比較少看到提及要如何處理創業者伴侶關係與家庭角色的議題
感受到性別已平等，資源已充足
創業者需下放自己的性別標籤，視自己為中性，如此才有機會轉變自己與外在資源之間的互動，從而獲得不分性別的支持
授課的老師真的很多，受到自媒體風頭的優點，我可以向一直崇拜的老師學習，但多數人未必能像我一般，知道自己需要的老師是誰
政府資源充足，私人商會團體也多，只是要自己願意去找，大多資訊沒有主動搜尋，很難有相關資訊連結
我覺得大部分的環境沒有分男女
太多女性創業者了，我不認為台灣女性創業有比較弱勢