More women are taking the plunge to start their own businesses than ever before, new research shows.
The percentage of women moving into self-employment has risen by more than 10 % compared with the male counterparts since 1990, according to the state of Women’s Enterprise in the UK report carried out by Enterprise support body Prowess.
Fuelled by the rise of social, environmental, and ethical considerations it found that 32.6 % of new starters are now female, against 22.2 % 17 years ago, with first-time male entrepreneurs dropping to 67.4 %.
Executive director of Prowess, Erika Watson said: “These figures are encouraging and we are today calling for a national mentoring network to support women at all stages of business growth.”
The research also shows that 59 % of women are more likely to think that social, ethical and environmental considerations in business are important, compared to 48 % of men. Other factors that arose from the research show that women working in the education, healthcare and community sectors are more likely to move into self-employment. It was also found that women from the black community are among the most entrepreneurial group.
Author of the report Dr Rebecca Harding of Delta Economics said: “Research continues to show that the attitudes and motivations that drive women’s enterprise are fundamentally different to those that drive men. Such differences need to be taken into account in the delivery of business support to women.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
