More than 130,000 women started a business in 2003, according to official figures, but ministers say they want more.
The Department of Trade and Industry claims that just over a quarter of all sole traders are women, and that the enterprises started last year made a large contribution to the £130 billion generated annually by owner-managed businesses.
But industry minister Jacqui Smith, who rehashed the figures at an event for women in business on Wednesday, says more should be thinking about the leap into self-employment.
Speaking at the Prowess event, the minister added that women are still the most underrepresented group in business terms. But if they started up at the same rate as men, there would an extra 150,000 new firms created every year.
As part of an attempt to redress the balance, the government launched a new 'toolkit' for business advisers, entitled the 'Case for Women's Enterprise'. It outlines ways to encourage more female entrepreneurs.
Addressing the conference, Smith said: "There is still a vast wealth of untapped talent and economic opportunity among women in the UK and this is where Prowess are really making a difference.
"Every woman with the desire to start or grow a business needs our support, but we also need to change the culture to help deliver, so that more women view the option of enterprise as a positive, achievable aspiration."
The government has embarked on a number of campaigns over recent years, with the hope that by 2006, a fifth of all businesses will be owned by women.
These include drawing up a formal 'Action Plan' through the Small Business Service to help women gain access to finance, and establishing a women's enterprise panel of successful female entrepreneurs.
Erika Watson, chief executive of Prowess, said: "The positive developments Jacqui Smith has announced today are warmly welcomed by Prowess."
