The numbers of gender inequality

Financing

Women's enterprises grow in size and structure

The capitalisation of companies remains one of the industry's sore points.

by Greta Ubbiali

8 March 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Female entrepreneurship in numbers
The Italian map
Funding node

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Italy has just over 1.3 million women's businesses. This is a number that has remained substantially stable in recent years (indeed, down by 0.3% compared to 2024), but one that is changing in nature, with small businesses giving way to stronger, more structured companies with a larger number of employees. For Unioncamere's experts, these data indicate a new trend: the small and widespread enterprise, close in some of its forms to self-employment, is giving way to more articulated productive realities capable of competing on the market.

Female entrepreneurship in numbers

At the end of 2025, business leaders accounted for 22.3% of the national production system, just over 1 in 4. The comparison with 2024 sees a significant decrease in the smallest enterprises, with 0-9 employees (almost 4,500 fewer), and, at the same time, an increase (numerically modest but percentage-wise significant) in those of a higher 'size': +0.5% for women's enterprises with 10-49 employees (+246), +1.3% for those between 50-249 employees (+44), +3.8% for those over 250 employees (+13).

This is shown by Unioncamere's Observatory for Female Entrepreneurship, realised with the support of SiCamera and Centro Studi Tagliacarne, on the occasion of the first stage, departing from Lucca, of the 2026 edition of the Giro d'Italia delle donne che fanno impresa. The roadshow, promoted by Unioncamere with the involvement of the Women's Entrepreneurship Committees, is part of the National Plan for Women's Entrepreneurship, managed by Invitalia in collaboration with Unioncamere, on behalf of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy and financed by Next Generation EU funds.

The structural strengthening of enterprises led by women also translates into an increase in the number of joint stock companies (+2.6% compared to 2024) at the expense of other legal forms. In absolute values, this means over 9,000 more corporations led by women and over 7,000 fewer sole proprietorships.

The importance of female entrepreneurship goes beyond the economic impact. In these companies, women account for 54% of employees, compared to 39% in other companies, favouring female employment. They are also often businesses that place importance on welfare: 28% of female businesses adopt measures to reconcile work and private life times (against 22% of non-female businesses).

The Italian map

The geographical breakdown shows that the region with the strongest female penetration in the business world is Molise, where women lead 27.1% of companies (8,877 units). They are followed by Basilicata and Abruzzo (with an incidence of 26.6 and 25.2% respectively). Lombardy and Latium, on the other hand, take the pink jersey for the highest share of enterprises with 181,469 and 137,52 companies. For both regions, however, there was a contraction of 0.09% and 0.23% respectively. The decline in the female production base is not evenly distributed across the country. The largest decreases are in fact concentrated in some regions (Valle d'Aosta, Abruzzo, Calabria). The dynamics are the opposite in Trentino Alto Adige, where the female business grew by 1.1%, followed by Sicily and Sardinia.

The dynamic becomes even more varied if we go down to provincial detail. Seven are the provinces that see female businesses grow between 2025 and 2024, starting with Sondrio (+2.5%), followed by Gorizia, Palermo, Bolzano, Caltanissetta, Sassari and Trapani, all with values greater than +1%. On the opposite side, Crotone, Aosta, Rovigo and Isernia, which record reductions of more than 3%.

Activities related to personal care, social assistance and education and training remain the sectors where women's presence is strongest. In these areas, companies led by women account for 30-40% of the total. But the perimeter of female 'doing business' is widening, and sectors such as accommodation and catering, agriculture and commerce now count a quarter of female entrepreneurs out of the total.

The financing node

In 2015 there were 1.29 million businesswomen (again according to Unioncamere data). In 10 years, their number has grown very little. Financing remains one of the sector's sore points. This is why support programmes such as those run by Invitalia have sprung up. Over a three-year period, the agency has financed more than 5,500 companies through incentives (Smart&Start Italia, ON - Oltre Nuove Imprese a tasso Zero, Fondo Impresa Femminile and Resto al Sud, to name but a few). Specific services such as one-to-one meeting sessions to help female entrepreneurs turn their ideas into concrete projects are also offered. The initiative, launched in November 2025, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, involved 48 aspiring female entrepreneurs and was replicated on this 8 March for another 36 women. It will continue in the future with further dedicated sessions.