Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Rejected
Require Government to develop and publish an ambitious strategy for advancing female entrepreneurship.
Recommendation
The Government should develop and publish an ambitious strategy for advancing female entrepreneurship to sit alongside and complement the existing Industrial Strategy and SME Strategy. This strategy should be published within 12 months. It should be developed in consultation with stakeholders across the investment landscape but particularly female entrepreneurs. It should include a focus on sectors of the economy not deemed to be high growth such as beauty and social enterprise, where female entrepreneurs currently feel overlooked despite delivering long- term sustainable growth and employment. The recommendations of our report should provide a good starting point for such a strategy. (Recommendation, Paragraph 55)
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation for a separate strategy for female entrepreneurship, stating they believe collective commitment and embedding women-led businesses into mainstream policies and existing strategies is more effective. They cite various existing initiatives and programmes that support female-led businesses.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
Women are central to unlocking growth for the UK economy and Ministers welcome the Committee’s ambition to amplify this further. That is why this Government is proud that several Ministers, including the Chancellor, are strong champions for women-led businesses. We believe this collective commitment is stronger than appointing a singular Minister and creating a separate strategy, as women-led businesses should be embedded in everyone’s agenda and their interests should be integrated into mainstream policies rather than being seen as distinct from the wider economy. We agree with the Committee that supporting women-led businesses is complementary to the Industrial and SME Strategies and we are working collaboratively across government on this basis. It should be noted that women were included in the SME Strategy through policies to back under-represented entrepreneurs as well as the recently published British Business Bank’s Strategic Plan to unlock potential across people and places. For example, we will back more businesses and investors from under-represented backgrounds through the new British Business Bank £400m Investor Pathways scheme, expanding support to diverse angel networks through new Angel Syndicate Support and Embracing Diversity programmes, and by supporting the Invest in Women Taskforce and other initiatives. Backing women and other overlooked entrepreneurs is at the heart of the Government’s economic strategy. Our greatest successes have come from an action-based approach to supporting women-led businesses through collaboration with industry leaders, including through the £635 million funding pot raised by the Invest in Women Taskforce, the largest such fund in the world. We will continue to work across departments, with the British Business Bank, and industry in our mission to unlock the untapped potential of overlooked entrepreneurs. This includes aligning the Industrial Strategy, SME Strategy, and future policies to ensure that women business leaders are fully recognised and supported.