Female entrepreneur numbers Increasing
May 30 2008
More women are start their own business
The fact that more women are choosing to start their own business is 'really good news', says the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
According to the organisation, the number of women running their own start-ups is 'increasing rapidly'.
A spokesperson for the FSB says that women tend to found their own firms later in life, for example in their 30s or 40s.
He comments: 'It's becoming something that is quite possible to do and it's a bit easier for women to balance work and life, perhaps, than it was and you can do that a bit more easily if you're working from home in particular.'
The spokesperson adds that the self-employed sector has until now been relatively male-dominated and explains that 'the situation appears to be changing quite fast now'.
According to the 2006-07 Annual Small Business Survey, the 'vast majority' of SMEs are led by men, with only 14 per cent led by women or by a management team mainly composed of females.
Comment by Sarah Diggins
Wednesday 4th June 2008This is great news, indicating we moving away from the old-fashioned attitude that "you have to be a man to be a leader or to command respect". I am the female MD of a new online start up Web247.net. Our board comprises 2 women and one man and we have an excellent balance of leadership qualities. It's important to note also that the women are succesful by being true to their own management style and not trying to mimic the way in which men would lead. We lead by example, we never use agression to achieve what we want and we place a lot of emphasis on good communication and creating and maintaining great business and customer relationships. I believe that both men and women bring skills and aptitudes that are complimentary and it is important to make use of both equally to achieve a well balanced company. Sarah Diggins
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Comment by natalie wilson
Wednesday 4th June 2008I think perhaps the reason many women in their 30s and 40s are setting up on their own is simply disenchantment with their employers. It can be difficult for women to balance family responsibilities with their careers, particularly when they work in positions that don't lend themselves well to part-time working, job sharing or other flexible working options. Increased employment rights for parents and parents-to-be can discourage SMEs from employing women through fear that they will struggle, culturally or otherwise, to accommodate these increased rights and legislation. While it is wonderful that women are taking control and setting up their own businesses, it is unfortunate that sometimes they are doing it because they see no other way of gaining flexibility without taking a drop in their career.
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Comment by Thomson jane
Wednesday 25th June 2008it's true that there are more and more women who started an career such as an business or entrepreneur woman. I saw recently an interesting survey on this subject on the site "Join2Grow", the link is the following : http://www.join2grow.biz/Survey/what-percentage-of-european-entrepreneurs-are-women/#Poll If you're interested by this subject, i advice to visit this website.
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