Women’s Enterprise Day 

is all about celebrating women in business,

and encouraging many more to turn their passions into profit.

 

“Everywhere you look, more and more women are taking control of their futures and turning

 their ideas and dreams into real success stories.

I am surrounded by friends who are the living proof of it!

By celebrating the achievements of female entrepreneurs,

I think Women’s Enterprise Day sends a positive message that no idea is out of reach;

I hope this week will be the starting point

for many successful enterprises run by women right across the world.” 

Beverley Knight MBE, singer-songwriter

  

 

 

Women’s Enterprise Day is led by the Women’s Enterprise Steering Group.

Want to share your thoughts? Take part in the Enterprise UK forum.

Who is your top Enterprising Women?

UK Women vs USA women

 

There are around 680,000 majority women-owned businesses in the UK generating £45 billion to the UK economy.

We want more women to unleash their talents and make their ideas happen!

Organisations from all over the UK will be hosting events and activities, profiling successful female entrepreneurs and inspiring other women and girls to take control and follow in their footsteps.

 

Listen to Penny Newman, CEO of Fifteen

 – the restaurant set up by celebrity Chef, Jamie Oliver

– share her thoughts on women in enterprise.

 

 

 

Listen to Leila Wilcox, the brains behind Halos and Horns

 and now Angelis Insurance,

tell us about

the importance of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

 

 

Why should you get involved?

The stats

Of the 4.7 million UK enterprises, only 15% are led by women (BERR, 2009).

Women in the USA are twice as likely to be entrepreneurially active as women in the UK (State of Women’s Enterprise in the UK, Dr Rebecca Harding, Nov 2007)

The entrepreneurial rates for men are roughly the same in the UK as the US; any significant increase in business formation will only come from encouraging more women into business (State of Women’s Enterprise in the UK, Dr Rebecca Harding, Nov 2007).

 

There are roughly 680,000 majority women-owned businesses in the UK generating around £45 Billion to Gross Value Added (BERR, 2009).

 

Women starting up in business will tend to provide a more immediate contribution to the economy: around one in five women come into self-employment from unemployment compared with around one in fifteen men ( Annual Small Business Survey 2003, SBS).   

When women represent 30% of the Board of Directors

the profitability of a company increases threefold

 (Women Executives in the UK, Gavurin Intellience, Feb 2008)

At the current rate of progress it will be a further 60 years

before women in the UK achieve parity on company boards.

 (Commission for Equality and Human Rights)

 

What our partners say

Previous Women’s Enterprise Day partners told us why they keep getting involved year on year:

• We use the focus of the day and run an activity as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility agenda.
• Women’s Enterprise Day is a good opportunity to raise the profile of our organisation.
• We use the day to help more women to set up businesses – there’s a great focus in the media on this day.
• Choosing the day to run our monthly network meeting helps us increase membership to our network.
• As a women’s enterprise ambassador, I really enjoy getting involved in Women’s Enterprise Day events so I can inspire school girls and young people to believe in themselves.

 

How does it work?

All over the UK, organisations will be using the focus of this day to run their own events and activities.

Check out the resources section for some tips and stories to help you plan a successful Women’s Enterprise Day.