The research, commissioned by Kensington, found that while the number of male business owners who expect the turnover of their business to decline in the next 12 months has doubled from 7% to 14% in the last quarter, only 8% of self-employed women share this outlook.
This compares to the Kensington Self-Employed Index that was published this time last year, just ahead of the credit crunch, which showed a third more self-employed women (9%) expected a decrease in the turnover than their male counterparts (6%).
Similarly, nearly three quarters (72%) of female entrepreneurs are now confident about their firm's business prospects for the next six months, as opposed to just two thirds (66%) of male business owners.
Last year only 63% of self-employed women were confident about their business prospects, compared to 64% of male entrepreneurs.
