Regiment of women on the march

Jun 20 2007 by Bill Gleeson, Liverpool Daily Post

THROUGH history, men have always been more likely to start a business than women. While the historical reasons for this are obvious, change is proving slow

It has therefore become a key plank of government policy to try to accelerate progress in this area.

One thousand female entre- preneurs are being recruited to help and inspire more women to set up their own business.

This army of businesswomen will provide a national network helping other women across the country and will work with the new Task Force for Women’s Enterprise, being set up by the Department for Trade & Industry.

The 1,000-strong network will:

be recruited by the Regional Development Agencies advised by Enterprise Insight, with each RDA asked to recruit over 100 entrepreneurs;

have a focus on key stages of women’s lives including younger women, women who have just had children and are taking stock of their future work plans and women whose children may now have left home; and,

work with women in their communities, through education and in specific industries to inspire more women to start their own businesses.

Industry Minister Margaret Hodge said: “We can’t afford not to do this. There would be three quarters of a million more businesses in the UK if we matched US levels of female entrepreneurship. Successful women throughout the country can and must mentor and inspire many more women to think: ‘Yes, I can do that’ and take the confident plunge to start their own business.

“This will lead to a new women’s movement that will push back gender barriers and give women the confidence and support they need to start a business.”

Enterprise Insight has already recruited 30 ambassadors for the new women’s enterprise network.

Kevin Steele, chief executive of Enterprise Insight and the Make Your Mark campaign, said: “We are looking forward to working with the RDAs to advise on their recruitment of this country-wide network of inspirational business women. These ambassadors for women’s enterprise will help generate more self-belief among women to start a business, and provide the culture change needed to boost the rates of entrepreneurship in the UK.”

Later this year, a new support programme for women who have graduated from a UK university within the past 10 years and are thinking about starting a business will be launched. The programme, to be run by the National Council of Graduate Entrepreneurs, will assist women graduates to turn their business ideas into reality, with sustained support provided over a 12 month period.

The scheme will be launched later this year with applications to participate being sought from all UK universities, regional development agencies and Business Link operators.

If we get more women into the economy UK productivity could be boosted by up to £23bn, worth 2% of GDP; according to some estimates.

Women-owned businesses contribute about £60bn to the economy (Gross Value Added) as it is, but men are still almost twice as likely to start businesses as women, according to the London Business School’s Global Enterprise Monitor study.

Most of the 1m self-employed women in the UK are in the service sector.

billgleeson