Barriers to Female Entrepreneurs: FSB and everywoman Roundtable Discussion

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

everywoman and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) hosted a roundtable discussion in Parliament on Monday 26 November. As part of the FSB Real-Life Entrepreneur campaign everywoman have been working together with the FSB to look at the barriers facing female entrepreneurs - issues that make it harder for women to set up a business or discourage them from growing their business. In the UK alone, 150,000 additional start-ups would be created per year if women started businesses at the same rate as men.

Hosted by Jenny Willott MP and attended by Stephen Lloyd MP, Chi Onwurah MP, Lorely Burt MP, Baroness Howe of Idlicote, Lord Cotter and Maxine Mawhinney, BBC the focus of the discusson was ‘Barriers to female entrepreneurship’. Talking about their own personal experiences as women business owners were several everywomanClub members, as the voice of women in business from a variety of sectors, including:

Lorraine Heggessey - Executive Chair, Boom Pictures (ex CEO of Talkback Thames and ex BBC Controller) - Media sectorAnnette Nabavi - Partner, AHV Associates LLP - Technology sectorCamilla Shaughnessy - CEO & Founder, Eventful stays - Travel & TourismAnne Walker MBE - CEO, International Dance Supplies Ltd - Retail sectorFollowing an introduction by Jenny Willott MP and Mike Cherry, National Policy Chairman, FSB, everywoman founders Maxine Benson MBE and Karen Gill MBE briefly shared some of their experiences in setting up a business. They also shared their focus on making the issue come alive – the theory is often spoken about but real life stories are what we need at this stage – role models of women who have achieved success in setting up their own businesses. The debate was then over to all participants – all agreeing that there is much to be done concerning the image and stereotypes of entrepreneurs through the media. We need to change the aspirations of girls and ensure that they see entrepreneurship as an option, but not just in the ‘reality tv’ sense – it has to be realistic.   

The question was raised as to why entrepreneurship is so much more respected in the US. This applies for both men and women, but there does seem a real difference in attitudes between the US and UK. In the US, it was felt there is a real sense of the intrinsic business value of procuring from women led businesses. In addition to this the attitude in the US seems to celebrate entrepreneurs – across the board – interestingly, even when the businesses fail.

The reasons for women starting businesses were discussed – often this does tend to be aligned to having children – this is both an enabler and a motivator. Women who need greater flexibility due to having children are perhaps more likely to consider the freedom of entrepreneurship. There is however a caveat to this – without sufficient funds they struggle to pay for childcare, and running a successful business whilst providing childcare is near impossible. Our four representatives shared their experiences in setting up businesses in the early stages, all agreeing just how hard it is at the start. A common theme was that without enough funds to sustain the business, it is all too easy for women to give up. Successful businesses take time to grow and the risk is that women simply aren’t getting to that stage as they do not have the funds to take them through the difficult early stages.

All agreed that female role models are essential – to see other women who have been in same position is incredibly valuable in inspiring and encouraging others to see it through. The issue of obtaining funding was also discussed – all agreed that it is key that women portray themselves as confident and willing to take risks when pitching – all traits essential to be a successful entrepreneur. What is vital is ensuring that advice is available – for both men and women –  to those wishing to set up their own businesses, and that they know where to go for this information.

As the debate came to a close a key issue was also discussed – that of education. Careers advice invariably doesn’t focus on entrepreneurship and, crucially, does not come from those who are best to provide it, i.e successful local business owners. Without this, younger people will fail to consider the option of setting up their own business. There are however initiatives that are helping this, including amongst others, everywoman’s Modern Muse programme.

This brought the session to a close with all agreeing that a campaign, supported by government is necessary to raise awareness of women owned businesses. Increasing awareness through the media, and through successful role models will inspire other women to consider entrepreneurship as a career path. But the key is to ensure that this awareness and access to information is there - without this, many women (and men) will never give it a try, to the detriment of the wider economy.

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