News
Two heads better than one - Minister announces Task Force Chairs The long awaited national Women's Enterprise Task Force will be headed by two chairs: Glenda Stone, Chief Executive of Aurora and Pam Alexander, Chief Executive of SEEDA. The announcement was made by Margaret Hodge MP, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions at a Prowess event in the House of Commons on Women's Enterprise Day. Commenting on the unique arrangement Margaret Hodge said "I have deliberately appointed two chairs to provide both business and delivery expertise. Pam and Glenda will provide the can-do attitude required to accelerate the growth in women's enterprise". Prowess will work closely with the Task Force on its top priority of ensuring effective women-friendly business support in every region. The Minister is expected to take a close personal interest in the progression of the Task Force. For further information visit: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/dti/ Young women four times less entrepreneurial than young men The largest entrepreneurial gender gap is amongst people aged 18 - 24, where men are four times more likely to be involved in enterprise activity. The finding is part of a Prowess commissioned GEM report 'Stairways to Growth: supporting the ascent of women's enterprise in the UK' which calls for the Governments' focus on young enterprise to recognise the particular needs of young women. Findings from the report also demonstrate that women are driving enterprise in the rural economy and points towards significant entrepreneurial activity amongst affluent black African and Caribbean women. The report calls for more consistent and sustained policy commitment from Government and a much greater push at national and regional levels to see the growth in women's enterprise called for in the Strategic Framework. The report was launched in the House of Commons on Women's Enterprise Day by the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions Margaret Hodge: Download 'Stairways to Growth' at: http://www.prowess.org.uk/publications.htm Top business women paid less and work longer hours than men Britain's top businesswomen are paid nearly a fifth less than their male counterparts, even though they work longer hours according to the annual pay survey by the Institute of Directors (IOD). The average salary for a female company director this year was £60,000, some 19% less than the average £74,028 earned by male directors. The research also shows that female directors in large companies are working longer hours than their male counterparts; 55 hours per week compared with 57 hours for men. Commenting on the findings Miles Templeman, Director General of the IOD said "The pay gap has often been justified on the basis that women work shorter hours. Our survey refutes that suggestion. Even women who break through the glass ceiling and reach board level will find there is another roof over their heads". For more information visit: www.iod.com (press office) Number of self-employed women hits the 1 million mark For the first time the number of self-employed women has gone over 1 million, there are now approximately 1,013,000 self-employed females in the UK, representing 7.6% of all women in employment. The finding is included in the new report ‘Women’s Business Ownership: Recent Research and Policy Developments’. Despite reaching this milestone the report emphasises women are still less than half as likely as men to start a business and levels of women’s business ownership are far behind the US equivalent. The report also cites new research that unanimously confirms that 'pregnancy, maternity, childcare and caring responsibilities present particular challenges for women business owners, not experienced to the same extent by their male counterparts'. The report concludes that ‘the growth in women’s enterprise in the USA has been aided by Federal recognition of its importance and a sustained commitment to its development over a thirty year period’. It calls for sustained commitment in the UK to enable an equivalent level of growth. Download ‘Women’s Business Ownership: Recent Research and Policy Developments at: http://www.sbs.gov.uk/SBS_Gov_files/researchandstats/WomensBusinessSummary.pdf New Centre for Women in Business recognises women as leading on innovation The new Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business has been launched at the London Business School. Preliminary research findings from the centre suggest that women leaders are more likely to innovate in their products and services. Ongoing research will question the cost to companies of having senior teams largely made up of and led by men. Professor Lynda Gratton, Executive Director of the Centre is calling on Senior Executives of 150 leading companies to help draw up a new set of industry standards to promote more women and to create working environments which break away from the traditional male-dominated model. From 2007 the Centre will also focus on women and entrepreneurship. For more information see: http://www.london.edu/womeninbusiness.html North East to gender monitor all publicly funded activity One North East have outlined a three pronged strategy for increasing the number of women owned businesses in the region. Top of their action plan is the need for collective leadership and buy-in from regional stakeholders on recognising the economic importance of increasing women’s business ownership. The second core aim calls for gender monitoring to become integral to all publicly funded activity and for the gender disaggregation of all future economic research. Lastly the action plan calls for a ‘Think Gender’ communications policy which will ensure language and images used to promote products and services appeal to both men and women. The action plan is designed to tackle the regions enterprise gender gap; 4.1% of females in employment are self-employed in the North East compared to 11.7% of men. Download: Leading the Way: Increasing the participation of women in North East England’s economy at: http://www.onenortheast.co.uk/lib/liReport/10404/Womens%20Enterprise%20Strategy%20FINAL.pdf Chancellor launches Social Enterprise Action Plan On launching the Governments’ Social Enterprise Action Plan, Gordon Brown called social enterprises the ‘new British success story’. He unveiled plans to appoint 20 social enterprise ambassadors to act as role models for new entrepreneurs in the UK. The Action Plan also states that the Office of the Third Sector ‘will provide funding from April 2007 to RDAs to improve Business Links capacity to broker business support for social enterprises’. An initial pilot level of £0.5 million in 2007 – 8 will be made available rising to £1.8 million per year from April 2008 – 2011. Download: Social enterprise action plan scaling new heights at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/documents/social_enterprise/se_action_plan_%202006.pdf Increased support for BAME women in social enterprise Ruth Kelly, Minister for Women has launched pilot training material, developed by Prowess in partnership with Social Enterprise London, aimed at ethnic minority women looking to start social enterprises and for enterprise support providers. The material can be downloaded from the Women & Equality website at: http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/equality/min_eth.htm. Feedback on the documents is welcome and encouraged. Please use the form within the material and email to admin@prowess.org.uk by Friday 30 November. Childcare support for SMEs A £16.8 million package of investment has been announced by the Government to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) provide childcare for employers. The Workplace Nurseries Capital Programmes will be delivered by RDAs, led by the London Development Agency. The scheme is designed to help employers provide childcare close to the workplace. The funds will be available in areas where there is most demand, for example in areas of economic growth and regeneration. Grants will be allocated in 2007, based on detailed proposals from SMEs. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2006_0156 |
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Prowess member's news
New package of support for female entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland A new programme called ‘Pathways to Female Entrepreneurship’ has been unveiled by Invest Northern Ireland. The support will be aimed at women in ‘harder to reach’ sectors to encourage them to consider starting businesses. The programme will ensure support throughout the country is co-ordinated and effective and will also involve schemes to encourage innovation in existing women-owned businesses. http://www.investni.com/index/start/st-start-up-programmes/femaleentrepreneurs.htm Two Welsh Flagships roll out the red carpet A film celebrating the achievements of two Welsh Prowess Flagship organisations was premiered in Cardiff this month to a capacity audience. The film 'Women into Business - The Story So Far' features female entrepreneurs from across the country and is designed to encourage more women into enterprise. For more details contact Ruth Rowe or Louise at Women into Business on 01656 724414 or visit: www.businessinfocus.co.uk Prowess members involved in hundreds of events to celebrate Women's Enterprise Day Prowess members joined in the women's enterprise day celebrations by holding innovative events across the country to promote their fantastic services and celebrate the success of their clients. Women's Enterprise Day was held as part of the National Enterprise Week, led by the Make Your Mark Campaign. The campaign organisers have just launched a website to promote enterprise networking opportunities. If you have a networking event coming up in the next few months you can add it to the new website at: http://www.makeyourmarkconnect.org Enterprising Women consortium connecting 1000 women The East of England based Enterprising Women consortium has revealed that they are now working with over 1000 women in the region and over 90 support organisations have joined the dynamic community. To find out more visit: http://www.enterprising-women.org/ |
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EventsProwess 4th Annual International Conference 'Backing Winners: the dead cert for an enterprising nation' Brighton Racecourse, 7 - 8 February. Join key players in policy and practice for the leading event in the women's enterprise calendar. This year the conference promises to be bigger and better than ever before and confirmed speakers include: Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Industry and the Regions, Mmabatho Matiwane - Head: Gender and Women's Empowerment Unit – DTI, South Africa, Pam Alexander - Chief Executive: SEEDA, Dr Katherine Rake, Director, The Fawcett Society, Polly Toynbee - journalist, author and social commentator and many more, Ruth Badger, Lynne Franks and many more! Book before 15 December to claim your early bird discount. For all attendance and marketing enquiries contact Ann Nicholls at a.nicholls@prowess.org.uk or call 01603 762355. http://www.prowess.org.uk/conference/backingwinners.htm Flagship Development Day 29 November, 10 - 15.00, Stevenage. Enterprising Women (East of England) Hosted by Incredit. Aimed at organisations in the East of England wanting to know more about the Flagship Quality Standard for Best Practice in Women's Enterprise Development. For more information contact: j.orourke@prowess.org.uk or call 01603 762355. Click here for booking form. Free Prowess Member Event: Regional members’ meeting including Masterclass 17 January 2007, 11 - 14.00 Stevenage hosted and delivered by Incredit. Including a presentation on 'Diversity is the spice of life'. Click here for booking form or contact Julia for more information: j.orourke@prowess.org.uk Free Prowess Regional members’ meeting including Masterclass 19 January 2007, 11 - 14.00 Bridgend Wales, hosted by Business in Focus includes buffet lunch, networking and presentation on‘ Accessibility to a wider range of clients’. Click here for booking form or contact Julia for more information: j.orourke@prowess.org.uk NAWO (National Association of Women's Organisations) AGM and Conference 28th November, London. Costs £5 members, £10 non members. For further information email info@nawo.org.uk or call 020 7490 4100 Transfer of Business – policy and practice 29 November Brussels, Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research, Nutek and ITPS joint organised seminar. FREE Contact Helena.ericsson@fsf.se Social Audit Network National Conference 1 December , York. Costs from £100 Contact Nicola Ward on 01430 879 073 or email Nicola.ward@hwrcc.org.uk for more information. Up-skilling the Workforce for the 21st Century 4 December, London. Costs from £229.13 Register on line at www.neilstewartassociates.com/jd172 Legal Structures for Social Enterprise (two-day training course) 6 & 7 December Sheffield Cost £200 for Prowess members £250 non-members. Click here for further details. Download booking form here. Or contact Julia for more information: j.orourke@prowess.org.uk Competitiveness Summit ’06, 7 December, London. Costs from £229.13 Register online at www.neilstewartassociates.com/se193 GEM Forum 10 - 11 January , Cafe Royal, London launch of the Annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report and first Global Forum event. The event will be a gathering of global thought, business and policy leaders around the central issue of entrepreneurship and its role in economic development. To book online or for further details visit: www.gemconsortium.org or email gem@london.edu 12th Annual Symposium of the AM SIG in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Marketing 10 -12 January 2007, Birmingham. Contact Temi Abimbola for further information and to reserve a place temi.abimbola@uce.ac.uk 5th Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research (IECER) 28 February- 2 March 2007 Montpelllier, France www.iecer.de
For details of events aimed at women entrepreneurs taking place in your area click on the map below, members remember you can add your events to the Prowess online clickable map quickly and easily at no cost:
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Awards
The Prowess Awards 2007 Aimed at those paving the way for women starting and growing businesses in the UK. Nominations now open until 12 January. There are 8 categories including: Female Business Mentor of the Year, Business Support Professional of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Women's Enterprise Development. The awards will be presented at the gala dinner during the annual Prowess conference on 7 February. For more information contact Julia at j.orourke@prowess.org.uk or call 01603 762355 or visit: http://www.prowess.org.uk/conference/Awards.htm Fast Growth Business Awards 2007 Honouring the UK's fastest growing businesses: categories include: Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Innovative Business of the Year and Online Business of the Year. The closing date for nominations is 15 December 2006 and the awards will be presented at a gala dinner in central London in March 2007. For further details see: http://www.fgba.co.uk/ |
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New Research
Small Business Research Trust Quarterly Survey of Small Business in the UK, Vol 22, 2006 Enabling the enterprise revolution, Confederation of British Industry, October 2006 Barclays start up figures for the first six months of 2006 – More women go it alone to set up their business dream, October 2006 http://www.newsroom.barclays.co.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=821&NewsAreaID=2 Do Enterprise Support Programmes Leave Women Holding the Baby? Rouse, J. and Kitching, J. Environment and Planning C: Government Policy, 24(1) (Forthcoming)
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Vacancies
External Evaluator x 2 The Business Hub www.hubub.org, University of Bath in Swindon, runs a series of European Social Fund (ESF) Projects and needs two External Evaluators to examine and report on two of these Projects. The projects are 'Enhancing Women into Enterprise' and 'Coaching and Mentoring For All'. If you would like further details of these two roles and how to apply then please e-mail: k.lovell@bath.ac.uk The closing date is 11December 2006. Enterprise and Incubation: University of Central Lancashire Knowledge Transfer Service are looking to recruit a team of dedicated and enthusiastic people to work with the Project Champions - Incubation and Enterprise to deliver a range of enterprise and incubation services to graduates and the regional SME community. All posts are ERDF funded and include PR, Events and Technology Coordinator, Enterprise Coordinator, Admin Assistants, Project Administrator and an Incubation Project Coordinator. For further information contact Bede Mullen bmullen@uclan.ac.uk or phone 01772 892252. Closing date for applications: 4pm on 8 December 2006. Development Manager, Manchester Women’s Electronic Village Hall, Salary 0.8 x £33,315 (pro rata) Business Advisers Full-time term contract from c£30k p/a pro rata+ benefits |
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New Members
New members of Prowess include: SWRDA www.southwestrda.org.uk North Somerset Enterprise Agency Ltd www.northsomersetenterpriseagency.co.uk In My Prime Ltd www.inmyprime.co.uk KBVT Ltd www.kbvt.co.uk Business Enterprise Support Ltd www.enterprisesupport.org Tyneside Economic Development Company www.tedco.org YTKO www.ytko.com Sheffield Enterprise Agency www.senta.co.uk Intelligent Approaches Ltd www.intelligentapproaches.com Univ of Central Lancashire Knowledge Transfer Service www.uclan.ac.uk Ixion Holdings Ltd www.ixionholdings.com Invest Northern Ireland www.investni.com
Click here for details of Prowess membership |
Prowess – The UK association of organisations and individuals who support women to start and grow businesses.Please send comments and news or information sources to a.kent@prowess.org.uk by the 28th of the month. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you and you would like to be kept informed about Prowess please e-mail your contact details to a.kent@prowess.org.uk . Let us know too if you want to be taken off the mailing list at any time. This newsletter is produced for information only. While we believe the content is accurate we can accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions. Prowess is happy for recipients to forward and redistribute items in this Ezine, however we ask that Prowess is credited as the source and that where appropriate there is a link to our website. © Prowess Ltd 2006. Lion House, 20-28 Muspole Street, Norwich NR3 1DJ Tel 01603 762355 Fax 01603 227090 www.prowess.org.uk - the UK-wide gateway to local women friendly business support |
