Call for dedicated women’s business centre made on centenary of first vote
A FRESH call has been made for a dedicated women’s business centre in Scotland.
Women’s Enterprise Scotland, the community interest company which focuses on the contribution women’s enterprise makes to the Scottish economy, is marking the centenary of UK women first voting in a general election by calling for concerted action to establish a national women’s business centre.
Carolyn Currie, chief executive of WES, said: “Women first being able to vote on December 14, 1918 marked a huge milestone in the struggle for equal representation.
“Much has been achieved since then but there is still so much more to do. Whilst we still have a gender pay gap, maternity discrimination, male dominated company boards and just 21 per cent of Scottish SMES being majority owned by women, we are consigning a wealth of talent and opportunity to waste.
“Enough is enough, the time for concerted, meaningful action is now.”
WES marked its call for action by joining forces with female entrepreneurs at Royal Bank of Scotland’s new Accelerator Hub in Glasgow, which will help up to 70 businesses at a time, through a programme of free mentoring, insight and bespoke coaching for entrepreneurs.
Scotland’s womenowned firms have created 231,000 Scottish jobs, up from 153,000 in 2012.
Janice Cunningham, RBS entrepreneurial development manager, said: “We are attracting many female founders with an impressive variety of businesses across all sectors with real scope for growth, which is very encouraging.
“These inspiring women are great role models who will support us in attracting more women onto our accelerator.”