Research has consistently shown that female entrepreneurs are more innovative than their male counterparts; they are more likely to be providing a product new to the market, more likely to be using technology in their products or services and more likely to be offering a product or service that has been developed in the last year.
Despite this the number of female-owned companies in Science, Engineering, Construction and Technology (SECT) is staggeringly small. To understand more about female business owners in these sectors, the UK Resource Centre (UKRC) for Women in SET commissioned Prowess to carry out the first national survey of such businesses.
The survey aimed to put these innovative female entrepreneurs ‘under the microscope’; to find out about their motivations for self-employment, to explore what challenges and barriers they had experienced and to consider how more women could be supported to start businesses in these high growth sectors.
Under the Microscope: Female Entrepreneurs in Science, Engineering, Construction and Technology, was published by Prowess/UK Resource Centre for Women in SET (UKRC) in 2007. You can download or view it here: