Women in Scotland have reached a “tipping point” in business, with the number of women entrepreneurs matching the number of men for the first time.
A report found that women started and ran new businesses at almost the same rate as men last year.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), an annual measure of entrepreneurship, found that 8.6% of working-age women in Scotland were running or setting up a new business in 2023 compared to 9.8% of men, which the report describes as “statistical parity”. .
This compares to 7.2% of women and 10.5% of men in 2022.
The report was compiled by the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde.
It said 300,000 people in Scotland were involved in an early-stage business in 2023.
The women who make up about half of that number were described by one of the report’s authors as “significant.”
Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam of the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School told BBC Scotland News: “It’s a watershed moment because for the first time we see that there is statistical parity between early-stage male and early-stage female.
doing business in Scotland.
“This is very important because just four years ago, in 2020, we were seeing a difference between male and female entrepreneurship rates of almost four percentage points.”
But Professor Sahasranamam added that overall the climate for creating business opportunities could be better.
He said: “It’s worth highlighting that a panel of entrepreneurship experts found the framework for entrepreneurship in Scotland to be generally poor, with the level of support for women’s entrepreneurship worryingly rated as ‘less than satisfactory’ with a score of under three out of 10 ».
Become an “investable woman”
Genna Masterton transitioned from a career as a primary school teacher to an educational technology entrepreneur.
She is passionate about creating better, happier lives for children and registered her company Kinoro in March this year. It is an online guidance tool for adults to help children.
It was inspired by her teaching days.
She wanted students to be ready to learn and motivated, and said her coaching tool was born out of a frustration that she couldn’t help every kid, all the time. So he went from teaching to technology.
Her early years as an entrepreneur were challenging – and rewarding.
“I think the highs are when you’re in the right environment of people who don’t discount your ambitions and want you to be an investable woman. When you do something innovative and create a business that can scale internationally, there’s no stopping you,” he said.
Genna realized she was being taken seriously, with support to make connections with investors around the world.
But she also knew that her male counterparts might have one meeting with someone and raise investment where on average it might take 100 meetings.
She added: “Either you give up and just don’t try, or you’re going to do it so that the women who come after me or next to me, we make it easier for those who come after.”
The hope is for her business to go global.
She said: “I was frustrated (as a teacher) that what I had created was not scalable. By starting a technology business I could achieve that impact I wanted to have with children and families on a large scale.
“I think it was definitely about my future – thinking about having flexibility to have a family.”
“Concerns remain”
The GEM report also reported that one in five new business owners were non-white. Over 24%, this was the highest level ever recorded.
Despite the progress made in the diversity of Scotland’s entrepreneurs, some issues were holding people back.
Professor Stathis Tapinos, of Strathclyde Business School at the University of Strathclyde, said: “While Scotland has reached new milestones with women and ethnic minorities at an early stage
Business activity, concerns remain about established business rates, fear of failure and the general framework for business in Scotland with worrying assessments from the expert panel.
“Understanding these and other issues related to entrepreneurial attitudes, perceptions and activity in the country is important for policy and practice, as entrepreneurship has significant effects on the economy and many social dynamics.”
The study also found that with 9.1% of its population involved in starting or running new businesses, Scotland scored the lowest of the four home countries.
Wales led the way with 11.5%, followed by England with 10.8% and Northern Ireland with 9.7%.
The Scottish Government said people should be given the right support and encouragement, regardless of gender or background, and that the report showed strong business activity in Scotland.
Jobs and Investment Secretary Tom Arthur said: “People, regardless of gender or background, need to be given the right support and encouragement to make business ideas a reality, and this report shows strong business activity in Scotland.
“I am encouraged by the progress in women’s participation and remain committed to ensuring that women-owned businesses reach their full potential. The Scottish Government will continue to play a prominent role in boosting entrepreneurship.”
He said the deputy first minister had recently announced a £5m support package, including a £2.6m investment in schemes that boost early-stage entrepreneurship, with further targeted support for people from under-represented backgrounds.
