Women entrepreneurs are not treated fairly

The glass ceiling hampering the professional advancement of women may not be quite as impenetrable as it once was. In UK public life, we have women as head of state, prime minister, home secretary, first minister of Scotland, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, director of public prosecutions and president of the Supreme Court. The barriers women still face to succeed in their chosen field are well-attested and will be the focus of much debate on International Women’s Day. But less attention tends to be paid to the difficulties confronting women seeking to start a business.

They find it far harder than men to raise the capital. Researchers report that less than

10 per cent of start-up funding goes to womenrun businesses, while female entrepreneurs, on average, have proportionately fewer loan approvals and can also be charged higher interest rates. A large majority of women entrepreneurs say that they were not taken seriously when setting up their enterprises.

This is not only unfair to women but harmful economically. Releasing the entrepreneurial spirit of the entire country is important enough at any time, but will be doubly so after Brexit. The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that the economy is missing out on more than 1.2 million new enterprises. Targeted help for early stage women entrepreneurs could provide a £100 billion boost over the next 10 years, according to Deloitte.

Despite the funding obstacles, the proportion of working-age women going into business has risen rapidly in recent years, as women seek the greater flexibility of working for themselves. One survey shows that more women than men currently plan to become business owners over the next 12 months.

But much more could be done to unlock these great opportunities for growth. To that end, The

Daily Telegraph is today launching a campaign backed by business leaders, entrepreneurs, MPS and academics, aimed at closing the “enterprise gap”. This appeal is principally directed at the banks and other traditional sources of business funding that for too long have failed to appreciate the potential offered by women entrepreneurs. Too many women-run businesses rely on crowdfunding or personal savings for growth. There is a role here, too, for the Government to show that it is truly on the side of the entrepreneur.