Scottish women starting and running their own businesses are pointing to care commitments, discrimination and financial challenges blocking progress, according to new survey results released this month.
The survey – an extensive and authoritative pulse-check of women running businesses in Scotland – is compiled by experts in support for women business leaders, Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) -which delivers the Women’s Business Centre. It highlights similar themes from previous surveys, including:
- 65% have used their own savings to support the business.
- 48% say that care responsibilities have been a factor in them setting up in business.
- 33% feel that being a woman has hindered their business journey to some extent.
- 71% say women-only networks are necessary and useful. But 59% say better networking opportunities would help their businesses flourish.
WES conducts regular surveys. The responses to this survey were gathered from nearly 200 women across the country in 2019.
And there was evidence that the Women’s Business Centre couldn’t be more necessary. 36% of respondents said women-only business support had been useful – but a further 40% said no such services were available at the time of responding. The Women’s Business Centre, which launched in summer 2020, is designed to help address these points by providing gender-specific support, by women-owned businesses for women-owned businesses.
If the issues which the survey has highlighted are also challenging for you right now, the Women’s Business Centre is here to help. Find information on finance, read more about ways you can juggle care and business priorities, and be inspired by reading the experiences and advice from other women running their own businesses.
Head to the WES website to read the full report.
