At present, the female self-employment rate across countries is still lower than the male self-employment rate. As successful entrepreneurship is regarded as an important driver for economic growth, the question arises whether equal start-up opportunities exist. The literature overview illustrates that differences in performance between female-owned and male-owned businesses can to a very large extent be explained with differences in industry affiliation, firm size, and regional location. The presented data for the BSR countries is showing simultaneously marked differences between female entrepreneurs in these countries. An online survey of German female entrepreneurs illustrates interesting findings. In a second part, the publication informs about the situation and perspectives for women in SMEs in Poland .