Encouraging more women into business would inject 700,000 new firms into the British economy, the small business minister said today.
Margaret Hodge, appointing two business support leaders to head the Task Force for Women’s Enterprise, said that Britain needed to match US levels of female entrepreneurship.
The task force was announced by the Chancellor a year ago and the government came under fire for doing too little to encourage women to start-up their own companies, not least as the task force was yet to get off the starting blocks.
Pressure group Prowess called for long-term and sustained commitment from government as it said the momentum generated over the past three years was in danger of petering out.
"In particular, government focus on the 18-24 age group appears to be failing young women.… Women in this category are the least entrepreneurial of all age groups and just one quarter as entrepreneurial as their male counterparts," the group said as it launched a research report at a House of Commons reception for National Women’s Enterprise Day.
"Despite some notable progress made over the last three years, we now need a much greater push at national and regional levels," said Prowess executive director Erika Watson.
"The report highlights the importance of support and training that is as sustained and patient as women are themselves in their approach to business. If we’re to release successfully the undoubted potential of women entrepreneurs, this also needs to be matched by a consistent and sustained policy commitment from government".
Simon Wainwright, head of business banking for the report’s backers HSBC Bank, said: "…Doing more to encourage women to consider enterprise as a career choice is not just about equal opportunities, it also makes economic sense."
Ms Hodge said that Glenda Stone, chief executive of women's business support network Aurora and Pam Alexander, chief executive of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), would co-chair the task force.
"I have deliberately appointed two Chairs to the Task Force for Women’s Enterprise to provide both business and delivery expertise," she said.
She acknowledged that the UK was "well behind" the female entrepreneurial rates of the US and said the task force would aim to make the UK one of the best places in the world for women to start and run successful businesses.
"The objective for the Task Force is to take the UK further towards US levels of entrepreneurship - if we matched these levels it is estimated there would be at least 700,000 more businesses in the UK," she said.
Glenda Stone said: "Accelerating the quality and quantity of women’s enterprise in the UK is of significant economic importance. Building a pipeline of female-founded seed, start-up and expansion businesses attracts diverse investment and positively contributes to the economy through creating employment and wealth."
Prowess welcomed the appointments saying that the emphasis on regional business support was a much needed boost at a time when initiatives around the country were facing funding shortfalls.
It also welcomed the task force’s focus on access to finance as, in its survey, this was found to still be one of the key challenges for women starting and growing businesses.
"We hope the task force will work closely with the banks, business angel networks, equity investors and others to create a more level playing field for women seeking capital."
