"Time to change the perception of the successful entrepreneur"

You have said that it is time to change the perception of the successful entrepreneur. What do you mean by that?

- Above all, I think it is important to change the general perception of entrepreneurship - specifically who are entrepreneurs. People are historically used to seeing a high-performing man in a fast-growing start-up environment as an entrepreneur. This narrative provides a distorted view of entrepreneurship and raises thresholds for entrepreneurship as an occupation. Women's entrepreneurship in other sectors, such as small-scale operations, does not always receive the same attention. However, as more female entrepreneurs are highlighted, in a variety of sectors, I am convinced that this image will slowly but surely change and lead to more women wanting to start and run businesses.

Women's share of total entrepreneurship in Sweden is just over a quarter, well below the EU average of 33%. Why do you think that cut is so low?

- The fact that the number of women who are entrepreneurs is still so low indicates an untapped potential and possibly a shortcomings in the business climate in a broad sense that makes women to a lesser extent choose to realize their ideas within the framework of entrepreneurship. Another reason may be that the social security system in Sweden favors employment. When the number of employees and the number of entrepreneurs are compared with the population, a clear picture emerges of a high level of employment and few entrepreneurs in Sweden. This applies to both women and men. This government is doing a thorough job of mapping these types of issues to formulate policy proposals to promote women's entrepreneurship.

The government has a stated ambition to improve the conditions for women to own and run businesses in Sweden. Which initiatives do you think will be most important to achieve this?

- We are actively working on this right now and look forward to returning with proposals, but it could include looking at the simplification of regulations and how rules are applied. We also see the importance of highlighting good role models and forming opinions to increase the interest of women to become entrepreneurs. The fact is that role models are of great importance for behavioral changes, for example when starting a business.

Filippa Morfiadakis, Senior Consultant at New Republic interviewed Ebba Busch, Minister of Energy and Industry. "3 quick questions..." is a series of interviews conducted by New Republic.