Pink Shoe ambassadors were invited to join the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) at the launch of their new report on female entrepreneurship 'Shattering Sterotypes'. This was a well attended and highly successful event. The report itself highlighted some surprising results and identified areas upon which future activities for female enterpreneurs could be focused.
Below is a report of the event and a brief analysis of the research from Afua Akoto, our new and highly talented pink protégée. Thank you Afua. Thanks also to the CFE for including us in such a stimulating event.
A report on 'Shattering
Stereotypes, Women in Entrepreneurship'
by Afua Akoto
Several enthusiasts and
supporters of female entrepreneurs graced the discussion on the theme, 'Shattering
Stereotypes, Women in Entrepreneurship'. The conference which
was based on research findings on the dynamics of women in business was held at
the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE), a think tank located in the heart of the
city.
The global business
landscape is growing rapidly and as such female business owners (as do their
male counterparts) require the necessary support to ensure success in their
fields of endeavor. Hence, the Centre for Entrepreneurs in conjunction with
Barclays, conducted thorough research by speaking to over 500 C-suite female executives
and entrepreneurs across Britain on the underpinning issues in starting
business.
Some of the common
characteristics found amongst the respondents who were interviewed were
risk-loving and over-confident attitudes (I know what you might be thinking;
women have always been bossy…and will continue to be bossy). Well this may have
an aorta of truth however, so long as this trait is used in building massive
organizations then it’s a plus…no?
One of the most
shocking revelations was that female entrepreneurs are more likely to take out
large sums of money out of their total revenue/sales, more than their male
contemporaries.
Another interesting
finding was that most women business owners preferred to be addressed as
‘founder’, ‘president’, or ‘mom-preneur’ because they viewed the term ‘entrepreneur’ as “bloke-y”. Hmm…that’s
surely something to ponder about. Are top-level female moguls shooting
themselves in the foot by going against the global debate on equality? Think
about it this way, if the latter would like to be treated just as fairly as
their male counterparts, then why opt for titles which may reflect weakness and
the unwillingness to compete heads-on?
This notwithstanding,
about 70% of the C-suite female leaders were reported to possess the drive to
start businesses. In addition, the poll also revealed an annual turnover of
over £2 million for the businesses surveyed.
It was also revealed
that women left the corporate sector to set up companies after gaining enough
experience and a financial buffer.
The underlying barriers
to growth that were mentioned by the respondents included inadequate knowledge
of new markets, lack of strong networks and family commitments. For instance,
it was common to find that a highly competent woman capable of starting a
multi-national firm would sacrifice her dreams to support her entrepreneur husband,
rather than ‘jeopardize’ the financial stability of the home by starting her
own.
Despite the bottlenecks
for female entrepreneurship however, some recommendations were outlined to
accelerate the growth of businesses. These include increasing gender-balanced
networking events and the encouragement of growing business leaders in sharing
their success stories, as a form of motivation for upcoming entrepreneurs.
The report on the
subject matter was authored by Sarah Fink from CFE, research design and
analysis conducted by Emily Haisley (Barclays and Quantitative Finance), initiative
led by Jagdeep Rai (Barclays Corporate Bank) and Matt Smith (CFE).
