Black Women In Enterprise The spotlight is beaming on women; the focus is women in Enterprise. Around the country there is evidence to suggest that policy makers and business support organisations are waking up to the idea that women entrepreneurs are good for the economic prosperity of the country. Even banks are recognising the untapped potential of women; some have gone as far as creating specialist women in business teams. Much of this momentum has gathered force as a result of the government’s Strategic Framework for Women’s Enterprise. The framework sets out an action plan with very ambitious targets for the number of women starting up in enterprise and accessing business support.
This sets an important precedent, as never before has there been a co-ordinated strategy aimed at encouraging women into business. Comparative figures with the United States reveals the embarrassing gap that exists with the UK, only 15% of all businesses are owned by women compared to 30% in the US.
If we had the same levels of female entrepreneurship in the UK, there would be a further 750,000 more businesses created. But whilst the overall number for women owned businesses are disproportional to their numbers in the population, a dissection of the data shows that in fact black women in London have the highest level of business ownership among all other ethnic groups, representing 29%, compared to 21% of Whites and 15% of Asians. (The London Annual Business Survey 2003). For those of us that have been working in the field to address the disproportionate levels of Black and Minority Ethnic Businesses (BME) in the UK and London in particular, this is positive news. There are many reasons cited for this rise, some are cultural; black women’s entrepreneurial flair and business acumen can be traced to towns and villages in Africa and the Caribbean for examples of the daily ritual of buying and selling goods, often providing the main source of family income. For others the idea of being their own boss is far more appealing than working for someone else.
Others may have experienced discrimination in the job market and have no alternative other than to start a business as a means of survival. It is indeed impressive and a welcome change to receive news of black women in the UK leading a field and to have the figures to validate the facts is even better. But does this mean we have a happy end to the story? No, not necessarily, further research is required to examine the reasons so many black women are starting up in business. If the motivation is to avoid discrimination or lack of advancement potential in mainstream employment, then a different story unfolds that is far less positive. Business Support Needs We should continue to be optimistic and encouraged by the news.
Sustaining the Success The challenge for black women business owners is to identify and select the most beneficial support from the array of business solutions and support networks that exist. The question for business support organisations is a simple one. Is your organisation prepared to meet the potential demand for support that will arise from the growth of black women starting up in business and what are you going to do about it?
By Carol Sam The Knowledge Centre on Black & Minority Ethnic Businesses (KCBMEB) Business Link for London
For more details: http://tinyurl.com/5q2726
This sets an important precedent, as never before has there been a co-ordinated strategy aimed at encouraging women into business. Comparative figures with the United States reveals the embarrassing gap that exists with the UK, only 15% of all businesses are owned by women compared to 30% in the US.
If we had the same levels of female entrepreneurship in the UK, there would be a further 750,000 more businesses created. But whilst the overall number for women owned businesses are disproportional to their numbers in the population, a dissection of the data shows that in fact black women in London have the highest level of business ownership among all other ethnic groups, representing 29%, compared to 21% of Whites and 15% of Asians. (The London Annual Business Survey 2003). For those of us that have been working in the field to address the disproportionate levels of Black and Minority Ethnic Businesses (BME) in the UK and London in particular, this is positive news. There are many reasons cited for this rise, some are cultural; black women’s entrepreneurial flair and business acumen can be traced to towns and villages in Africa and the Caribbean for examples of the daily ritual of buying and selling goods, often providing the main source of family income. For others the idea of being their own boss is far more appealing than working for someone else.
Others may have experienced discrimination in the job market and have no alternative other than to start a business as a means of survival. It is indeed impressive and a welcome change to receive news of black women in the UK leading a field and to have the figures to validate the facts is even better. But does this mean we have a happy end to the story? No, not necessarily, further research is required to examine the reasons so many black women are starting up in business. If the motivation is to avoid discrimination or lack of advancement potential in mainstream employment, then a different story unfolds that is far less positive. Business Support Needs We should continue to be optimistic and encouraged by the news.
Sustaining the Success The challenge for black women business owners is to identify and select the most beneficial support from the array of business solutions and support networks that exist. The question for business support organisations is a simple one. Is your organisation prepared to meet the potential demand for support that will arise from the growth of black women starting up in business and what are you going to do about it?
By Carol Sam The Knowledge Centre on Black & Minority Ethnic Businesses (KCBMEB) Business Link for London
For more details: http://tinyurl.com/5q2726
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment