Survey reveals SME gender gap

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) led by women are rarer than male-run firms, according to the government's Annual Survey of Small Businesses' Opinions.

At 14%, the number of small firms that were led or managed by women in 2006 was higher than in 2005, when it was 12%. However, 52% of small firms were classed as entirely male-led, with women a minority in the management of a further 7%.

"Getting more women into business is a challenge, not just for gender equality but for national economic success," said business minister Shriti Vadera. "We would have 700,000 more businesses if proportionally as many British women as American women started businesses."

Commenting on the findings, Maxine Benson, co-founder of businesswomen's website Everywoman, told More Than Business News: "There has been a 10% growth in the last four years in the number of women starting businesses. That's good, but there's still a long way to go."

"One of the biggest issues that we find at the early stage is the confidence issue: not knowing where to go to find what support is available to SMEs, and not having a network of other women that they can go to for advice and support."

She added: "Even the most confident of women who have held senior positions in corporates can have their confidence chipped away quickly if they're not in the workplace for a while.

"The good news is that the more the government focuses on this, the more businesses and other organisations think about how they reach this segment of the SME market – that's when things start to change."

Baroness Vadera announced that next month she would be unveiling an enterprise white paper, to make "growing a business easier".