Entrepreneurship offers women empowerment in late-stage careers

Women’s entrepreneurial journeys later in life are not only viable but also deeply empowering, according to new longitudinal research. Older women struggling with reduced job opportunities can turn their age into an advantage, achieving autonomy and confidence through launching their own ventures, says Associate Professor Ewald Kibler from Aalto University's School of Business.

In collaboration with Vera Haataja at Copenhagen Business School and Professor Thomas Wainwright at Royal Holloway Business School, Kibler published an analysis of qualitative data gathered from in-depth interviews with late-career female entrepreneurs in the UK.

The interviews were conducted in three waves in 2010, 2016, and 2020, allowing the researchers a rich insight into the women’s entrepreneurial journeys over 11 years. 

While each of the interviewees shared individual challenges related to launching, managing, and sometimes ending their ventures, four common themes emerged: critical consciousness, age as a resource, improved agency and a sense of achievement.

Critical consciousness: Greater awareness of life’s finite nature sparked the interviewees’ desires to challenge, instead of accept, dwindling job opportunities by launching their own ventures. The confidence they gained from doing this empowered them to advocate for women in similar positions.

Age as a resource: The interviewees built ventures based on their core capabilities and prior training. They turned age into a resource in their peers’ eyes by leveraging their professional experiences, creating a positive feedback loop that helped them solve problems and develop confidence in themselves and their capabilities.

Improved agency: Entrepreneurship can transform power dynamics for women by providing opportunities for self-determination. Affirming their capabilities boosted their professional identities and personal motivations, enabling them to take on roles as mentors and advocates.

Sense of achievement: Interviewees gained a sense of pride from setting and achieving their own goals, from pursuing work that held personal meaning and in challenging stereotypes about their capabilities. In contrast, discontinuing entrepreneurial activities can lead to a loss of identity, agency and confidence.

The findings have significant implications for women in later professional life, especially in the UK where the retirement age for women is due to be raised to 67 between 2026–2028.

'When we create conditions that value accumulated experience and support diverse routes into entrepreneurship, we open pathways for women to transform constraints into strengths. This is essential for building a more inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial landscape,’ says Kibler.

This research was published in the academic journal Entrepreneurship & Regional Development: ‘I’m older but terribly independent’: women’s empowerment in late-career entrepreneurship

Get to know: Entrepreneurship Unit at Aalto University School of Business (ENTU)