WOMEN'S BUSINESS COUNCIL PROPOSED
(5 July 2005)

Women who are looking to become budding businesswomen were being encouraged by The Women's Enterprise Online Event held on 23 & 24 June 2005. The first event of its kind, it was aimed at motivating more women to consider enterprise as a viable prospect, by inspiring them with successful role models and by linking them up with women's support networks and business support organisations.

As part of the Government's commitment to significantly increase the proportions of newly self-employed people who are women, a Women's Enterprise Panel has also been formed to give expert advice on what more can be done to further promote women's enterprise development. It is expected to recommend the establishment of a national Women's Business Council to help the growing number of women-led businesses in the UK (15% in 2004).

Announcing the event, Meg Munn, Deputy Minister for Women, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for prospective businesswomen to gain inspiration and insight from successful women role models and to make contact with essential support networks.

"Estimates show that if women in the UK were to set up businesses at the same rate as men, there would be an additional 150,000 new businesses a year, and this would significantly increase the £50 - £70 billion a year women-owned businesses already contribute to the economy.

"The UK continues to be one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. I've met a lot of women who run their own businesses both in my own constituency and at national events. Talking to them is always inspirational and I'm convinced that many more women have the skills to run businesses. I hope this event will be informative and inspire many more women to start their own business."

The event followed recent findings of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2004 which shows that seven per cent of women expected to start a business in the next three years, closing the gap between male (11.8%) and female entrepreneurs in the UK.

The GEM report also found women in the UK:

• believed there were good opportunities to start a business (35.9%)
• are more likely to be innovative than men
• are far more likely than men to move from unemployment to self-employment (the ratio is 1 in 5 for women and 1 in 15 for men)
• they are, on average, more qualified than men (24% of self-employed women have a degree compared with 18% of self-employed men)
• in rural areas are more entrepreneurial than those in urban and suburban areas