With the number of female entrepreneurs increasing faster than ever, do women still need their own dedicated support groups, networks and venture funds? Emma Haslett investigates
In 2006, the Women’s Enterprise Taskforce (WET) was set up with the aim of increasing the ‘quality and scalability’ of women-led enterprises. Of the UK’s 4.8 million businesses, just 15% were run by women. In fact, in a 52-page report into the state of female enterprise, it concluded that if UK women achieved the same level of entrepreneurship as their US counterparts, this country would see an additional 900,000 businesses, with a further £23bn being injected into the economy.
But figures issued by Barclays last month have painted a considerably more positive picture. While the recession took its toll on the proportion of female-led businesses, which remains at 15%, women are now starting businesses at a faster rate than men.
In the third quarter of 2009, while the number of men registering as self-employed rose by just 1.1%, the number of women starting up was almost five times that. With the statistics at an all-time high and women well on the way to achieving entrepreneurial equality, are gender-specific initiatives to encourage enterprise such as the WET still needed
Role models
One of the WET’s finest achievements was the creation of the Aspire Fund – a £12.5m government-backed investment pot to provide growth funding for women-ld businesses. While the fund requires its applicants to match their investments – rendering the majority of start-ups ineligible – Melanie Perkins, the fund’s lead manager, says the role of the fund isn’t just about providing investment to entrepreneurs: it’s about creating role models.
“We’re not just trying to persuade women to start-up,” explains Perkins. “We want to act as a beacon for female role models. Everyone’s heard of Martha Lane Fox and Anita Roddick, but there are a lot more very successful businesswomen, and we have to encourage them to come forward and act as role models for other women.”
But if the government is serious about encouraging women into business, £12.5m seems a depressingly low figure. Shaa Wasmund, founder of Smarta.com, an advice and support website for entrepreneurs, believes that it’s patronising. “How much are we spending on the Olympics?” she asks. “If you’re going to do something, do it. If not, don’t bother. It’s absolute nonsense. We need to put life in perspective.”
Distinct challenges
One argument suggests women will always need business services tailored to them, because their challenges are so different to those of men. Julie Hall founded women’s network Women Unlimited after a friend took a job as a shop assistant at Marks & Spencer to supplement her family’s income (despite being tri-lingual) because she didn’t have the confidence to start her own business. Hall says women often need a self-esteem boost and women’s networks create a ‘safe’ environment in which they feel more comfortable doing business.
Hall believes that women-only networks provide a nurturing setting in which female entrepreneurs can hone their networking skills. “Coming to a women-only network means they can engage and connect with other women in a safer environment for them,” she says. “It’s a nice place to start. From there, they can go out into their mixed networks and feel more confident.”
In fact, a lack of confidence is seen as one of the main deterrents to women starting businesses. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an annual monitor of entrepreneurial activity in 41 countries, regularly finds women are less self-confident than men about starting a business. Family is also an issue. Proponents of female-specific business services say that however successful women are, they are always more likely to take a larger share of family duties than their partners – whether that’s childcare or care of elderly or sick relatives. According to the Labour Force Survey 2007, women are five times as likely as men to cite family commitments as a reason for starting a business. Hall has observed that a large proportion of the discussion during conferences run by Women Unlimited centres around juggling family and business commitments.
“I have two young children, and between 7am and 7pm, 95% of childcare responsibilities are mine,” she says. “Those types of roles tend to fall on the woman’s shoulders within our society, so it’s relevant to talk about the impact of childcare when you’re running a business.”
Singled out
For Dr Liz Williams, who is set to launch Anzaja, an online trading network for female entrepreneurs and the companies that do business with them later this year, the answer is simple: in the business world, women need to be singled out because they do business differently. “Women are much more collaborative,” she says. “They rely on recommendations. When I need, say, an HR services provider, I go straight to my colleague, who says ‘talk to this person’. It’s a short circuit – but women rely on that trusted third party to provide them with a good thing.”
With childcare responsibilities to contend with, Williams adds that women often don’t have a lot of time to mess about. “We’re more collaborative, less competitive and very much about supporting other women in business,” she says. Not necessarily because they’re women – but because they’re good at what they do.”
Smarta founder Shaa Wasmund agrees: “Men – alpha males – are constantly looking for the win. While I’m hugely competitive, I’m only really interested in long-term relationships and win-win situations. If I’m wrong, I’ll move on to the next thing. I’m not going to get bogged down in who’s right.”
But for boxing promoter-turned entrepreneur Wasmund, being a woman in business has never held her back. Having been the only woman in several male-dominated boardrooms, Wasmund is used to holding her own in a male-centric environment. “I have never once felt that I’ve been held back,” she says. “In fact, I’ve felt that being a woman has often helped me stand out.”
Standing out
If being a woman in business is so simple, though, why is there such a strong feeling they need specialised support? Wasmund says it’s down to her predecessors. While her generation of female entrepreneurs is relatively comfortable in its own skin, she says women in previous generations were fiercely competitive, feeling there was only enough space for one woman in the boardroom. “Taking a sledgehammer to a glass ceiling,” as she puts it.
What, then, does she say to a decree, made by the prime minister in March, that the absence of women from the boards of the UK’s largest businesses is ‘completely unacceptable’? “In theory, I agree with it,” she replies. “In theory, it means corporate Britain needs to take women far more seriously and have a board of directors that’s a lot more representative of the customers they serve. “What I would hate, though, would be to see anyone being put into a position purely based on their gender.”
Wasmund isn’t keen on being defined as a ‘woman in business’, or, understandably, a ‘mumpreneur’, either. “Why do we need labels?” she asks. “I’m a mum, I’m an entrepreneur, I’m a woman, I run a business. So what? Get over it.”
And perhaps that’s the point: “I’ve only ever been in business,” she says. “I simply happen to be a woman.”