Treasury launches review into potential barriers in business for women
The Treasury has launched a review into barriers for women in business in an effort to utilise untapped talent in the workforce.
Women could be facing unfair obstacles not experienced by their male counterparts according to government research.
Only one third of UK entrepreneurs are women, who remain half as likely as men to be involved in starting a business, while one in five smaller and medium-sized employers are run by women.
Alison Rose, chief executive of RBS Commercial and Private Banking, will lead the government review to identify what barriers exist and what could be done to resolve them.
The review will contemplate the potential drivers of disparity in male and female entrepreneurship numbers and will look to find examples of best practice that investors and financial services could implement to avoid gender bias in their investment decisions.
The review comes as part of a government effort to increase diversity in the workforce (Source: Getty)
“The fact that Britain is home to so many new, innovative businesses is something to be proud of. But the fact that so few of them are started by women is shocking. This is not because of a lack of talent or appetite,” said Robert Jenrick, exchequer secretary to the Treasury.
Speaking about her appointment, Rose said this was an opportunity to maximise the business potential of the UK economy.
“If we want to strengthen the UK’s position as one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business, then no-one can be left behind,” she said.
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Kelly Tolhurst, the small business minister, also stressed that the review would look at any issues that prevented women from becoming entrepreneurs.
“As a former small business owner myself I recognise many of the issues faced by female entrepreneurs up and down the country. This review will bolster our work to make it easier for them to access the support they need to get their ideas off the ground and grow their businesses,” she said.
The government will assess the findings and respond to the review after it is published next spring.