|
I am sorry that I cannot be there with you
physically - but this is the age of technology – nothing should stop us. I
am delighted to add my personal support, and that of the DTI’s Small
Business Service to the launch of the West Midlands Action Plan for
Supporting Women’s Enterprise.
My thanks to the Forum’s Chair, Isabella Moore,
for her tireless efforts in helping to promote and mainstream women’s
enterprise. And to all of you here today for providing The West Midlands
Forum with practical advice on developing its Women’s Enterprise Action
Plan.
It is pleasing to see women’s enterprise being
developed right across England. I know that each region will be looking at
its neighbour to see whether there are options for joint-working or
learning from each other – something which I would certainly encourage
wholeheartedly.
Developing women’s enterprise is a thread which
runs through the Government’s entire enterprise policy. And rightly so,
women form the largest under-represented group in terms of participation
in enterprise. This offers us a wealth of untapped talent and economic
opportunity.
Research estimates show:
· In the UK around 26% of all self-employed are
women;
· there are roughly 620,000 majority women owned businesses in the UK
generating around £130 billion turnover;
· Yet only 15% of SMEs are majority or wholly owned by women.
So promoting women’s enterprise is a crucial issue
for the West Midlands not only for individual women and their businesses,
but also for our economic health.
If women started businesses at the same rate as
men, we would have 150,000 extra start-ups each year in the UK.
If we had the same levels of female
entrepreneurship as the US, there would be around three quarters of a
million additional businesses in the UK.
It is not simply a matter of equality of
opportunity but an economic imperative, if we are to capitalise on the
potential women have to offer in growing our regional and national
economies.
This is where our Strategic Framework for Women’s
Enterprise comes in.
Since its launch 18 months ago, the focus of SBS
activity has been to foster the implementation of the Framework’s
recommendations in the regions. I am pleased to report that women’s
enterprise development is gaining an increasingly prominent profile across
all nine English regions.
A high priority has been given to the development
of vibrant and inclusive, regional strategic partnerships and action
plans; some regions, including the West Midlands, are forging ahead and
have partnerships in development.
The RDA role is critical – one of leadership, and
facilitation. I believe each RDA should have a women’s enterprise champion
to provide guidance on mainstreaming female entrepreneurship – you are one
of the lucky ones having Isabella in the West Midlands.
We recognise that Women’s enterprise is an
integral part of enterprise and economic development and not simply a
gender or diversity issue.
This is why SBS is currently working with partners
and stakeholders to capture, articulate and promote the economic argument
for women’s enterprise – to provide strategic partners, such as
yourselves, with information you can use to press home the importance of
women’s enterprise for all our regional economies.
The Regional Forum has made good use of these
arguments and has worked hard to raise awareness of the importance of
women’s enterprise, ensuring that the issues and needs of self-employed
women are included in policy and strategy within the region.
By feeding into the work of the West Midlands
Enterprise Board, you are ensuring that developing women’s enterprise is
firmly embedded in the work happening in the West Midlands to develop
enterprise more widely.
Your Enterprise Board is made up of people with
real business experience: who have started, developed and managed
enterprises and so, have real credibility.
It is important that your Enterprise Board and the
regional strategic organisations share a vision of the region’s future
economy; one in which everyone’s talents are used to the full and where
the potential of women’s enterprise is recognised clearly.
The West Midlands Action Plan for supporting
women’s enterprise results from a lot of hard work, energy, commitment and
above all courage and foresight from everyone involved in its development.
I know that it has been developed with the full
support of Advantage West Midlands with assistance from existing networks
in the region – an excellent example of strategic partnership working.
By the end of the year, most of the English
Regions will have established a strategic partnership for women’s
enterprise, or will have appointed a dedicated women’s enterprise regional
coordinator – or both.
However, there are still major challenges ahead,
if we are to substantially increase the level of women’s entrepreneurship
in the UK. Implementation of the Women’s Strategic Framework clearly lies
very much with the regions where we look to the RDAs to play a strong
leadership role in its implementation.
We very much appreciate the West Midland region’s
partnership in this important effort. This Action Plan marks great
progress and I look forward to hearing of even greater things as you move
from one success to the next.
|
