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The Rt. Hon. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Business Women on the Move Conference

London

Thursday, September 12, 2002

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Good morning. I'm delighted to be speaking at this second annual "Business Women on the Move" conference organised by everywoman. I would like to congratulate you. Today's event promises some very interesting and thought-provoking discussion on helping women to maximise their business potential.

I see the conference agenda has brought together impressive speakers, panellists and organisations from the business support world. Most importantly, you've brought together business women from many diverse backgrounds.

As Minister for International Trade and Investment, I am always pleased to meet women entrepreneurs from around the country – although obviously I can only scratch the surface of the 1 million or more women running their own businesses in the UK.

The challenge

The potential for women to seize the initiative, to establish and grow businesses which may transform both their own – and their families' – lives has become very clear in the last few years. I am sure it has been true for some time – given some of the great success stories in the last decades. But the real recognition of women as wealth creators has perhaps been rather slower in coming. Now I hope that we all – the Government, business and individuals – recognise that given the right opportunities and support, women can help transform the UK economy and help us to achieve greater economic growth.

The challenge for Government is to ensure that the right level of support is there, at the right time, in the right place, so that any woman from any background is enthused and enabled, rather than deterred.

The vision

The Government wants to ensure that opportunities for enterprise are open to all: young or old, male or female, regardless of ethnic origin or where people live. What should count is having the idea or vision, having the skill and the ability to sell that idea and to persuade backers on the one hand and consumers on the other that an enterprise will work.

We have made some positive progress. The latest research shows that the number of women starting up their own business is on the increase:

The number of self-employed women has more than doubled from 339,000 in 1979 to 818,000 in 2001. And;

The gap between self-employed men and women is narrowing. Whereas women represented about 19% of all self-employed in 1979, they now account for nearly 30%.

The gender gap

But,the statistics reveal a mixed picture about the gender gap:

Only 4.3% of women compared to 11% of men are involved in starting-up new businesses. A man is, therefore, two and a half times more likely to be an entrepreneur than is a woman.

And, while women now make up one third of all business start-ups in the UK, this is still considerably lower than in the USA –where women make up almost half of business start-ups – a concern I know that everywomanshare too.

The fact remains that too few women make the leap and set up in business. The evidence shows that women still have to overcome more hurdles than men in becoming entrepreneurs, including discrimination, lack of confidence, and a difficulty in finding financial and other support. They also face real challenges in balancing work and family life.

Breaking down the barriers

The Government is committed to breaking down these barriers. We want to see more women starting up business. We want to make it easier for women to access the support networks they need.

That is why support for women entrepreneurs is very much at the heart of efforts by the Small Business Service – the SBS – to promote enterprise. Tailored support services for women have been part of the larger picture for many years. Now they are receiving renewed attention with the SBS and the Business Link network playing key roles alongside private sector service providers such as banks.

I am impressed by the range of activity going on around the country to provide flexible support to women entrepreneurs:

Many Business Links, for example, run Women in Business start-up seminars and counselling services;

Others are employing increasing numbers of women business advisors – 50% of the business advisors in some Business Links in the Midlands are now women;

And some are now targeting their funding and grant schemes to support women entrepreneurs.

Accessing the finance

I am all too aware that access to finance is crucial for all entrepreneurs, men and women alike. Getting the right sort of finance for a business can make the difference between profit and loss and even survival and failure.

Women entrepreneurs have been increasingly successful in tapping into sources of financial support through the Small Business Service and Business Links. Initiatives such as:

The Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, whereby the Government guarantees loans from the banks and other financial institutions for small firms that have viable business proposals;

the Phoenix Fund, which is designed to encourage entrepreneurship in disadvantaged areas;

and the Smart initiative that provides grants to help individuals and SMEs make better use of technology and to develop technologically innovative products and processes.

There are many other potential sources of finance available through Government and through partnership with other service providers. I would urge you to make the most of the networking opportunities with colleagues here today to find out more.

Developing the right skills

Of course, to be successful in business it is not just about accessing finance, but also about developing the right skills. I believe we need to focus in particular on improving our information communications and technology – ICT – skills, an area where women still lag behind:

Only 4% of self-employed women work in the hi-tech sectors, while the vast majority of self-employed work in other service industries;

And there is still a large gender gap in the hi-tech sector as a whole where only 26% of workers are women.

But I think the perception of ICT – and of science and engineering generally – is changing. Clearly women appreciate the potential of ICT in their everyday lives as much as men. I was encouraged to see that one of the break-out sessions later today is on "Choosing the right technology for your business". There is no doubt that advances in technology will open up new opportunities and potentially helpful working patterns for women. And, we are already seeing evidence of change, for example:

More women taking higher degrees in engineering and technology than ever before – in 1995 only 10% of doctorate qualifiers were women, compared to 18% by 2000;

And, a 30% increase since 1992 in the number of women with science, engineering and technology degrees going into science, engineering and technology careers.

Getting more women into business and into the world of ICT makes good economic sense. If we could persuade as many women as men to go into ICT jobs, we would do much to overcome many of our current skills shortages in this area. The Government's White Paper "Opportunity for All in a World of Change" sets out a very clear goal "for the UK to match the best of our competitors with regard to women's employment in ICT". I hope this will chime well with one of everywoman's key aims – to level the entrepreneurial playing field for women in the UK to that in the US.

Government action

So what is the Government doing to tackle these challenges? I've already outlined some of our initiatives, but let me continue.

The Department of Trade and Industry, together with the Department for Education and Skills, is supporting a new strategy to address specialist skills needs in IT, electronics and communications. We are expanding specialist ICT learning programmes and investing �100 million over a 3 year period to develop Further Education centres of excellence in ICT, electronics and other hi-tech specialisms.

We want to do more to support women to acquire professional skills and encourage more women to get in, get on and stay in science, engineering and technology – SET – careers. That's why we set up the "Promoting Science, Engineering and Technology for Women" – the PSETW Unit in the DTI. The Unit has implemented a number of extremely useful projects: such as a 3-year pilot mentoring scheme to help women who are working in or would like to return to SET occupations; and the Go for It poster campaign in schools to show girls that SET careers can be exciting and rewarding.

These measures will encourage more women to play an increasingly significant role in the workplace, to gain experience and to develop the skills needed to go it alone in business.

Last but not least, I believe very strongly that the range of family friendly policies which this Government has introduced – including moves on parental leave, part-time working, improved maternity rights and time off for emergencies – will help all women in employment. There are many case examples where women are already benefiting from more flexible work practices being offered by employers – both large and small companies – who have seen this as the way to overcome recruitment and retention problems.

To sum up, we all recognise that women already play a vital role in British business. I believe firmly that many more women have the potential to do so. The task of the Government is to provide a climate in which their natural flair, creativity and determination can be channelled even more effectively into the world of enterprise.

But, to achieve real change, we need a partnership between business, education, individuals and the Government. We are actively examining more ways of overcoming the specific difficulties that women may face when setting up a business. The opinions voiced by you at events such as this one today are an invaluable input to us in this urgent work. We are keen to hear your views. It is, after all, all of you who will really make a difference.

I wish you much success. Thank you.

Other speeches by The Rt. Hon. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

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