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Women’s Enterprise Scotland has launched its ‘Manifesto for Change’!

First published on March 3, 2021

Women’s Enterprise Scotland has called on the next Scottish Government to make commitments to support women’s enterprise.

WES, who delivers the Women’s Business Centre, has launched its manifesto. Focusing on five priority areas for positive change, it is asking the next Scottish Government to make commitments to support women’s enterprise. This includes greater access to finance and ensuring that business support services are more aware of women’s needs

Five priority areas for positive change

Access to finance

a specific fund to be established which is dedicated to women-owned businesses

Gender aware business support

greater access to support with a National Women’s Business Centre

Digital inclusion

targeting gender stereotyping in education and funding to improve women’s tech entrepreneurship

Improved data collection

improvements to gender disaggregated data provision

A gender equal economy

the implementation of a caring economy based on gender equality, wellbeing and sustainability

This call to action will help build a sustainable and more equal economy which addresses the needs and closes the gender gap of women in business.

See the ‘Manifesto for Change

Businesses which are majority-owned by women currently contribute £8.8bn to the Scottish economy every year and account for over 231,000 jobs, which is 13% of the private sector total in Scotland (1).

Years of progress have now stalled, with the number of women-led businesses in Scotland declining over two consecutive years from 20.6% in 2017 to 14% in 2019 (2).

1 Women in Enterprise: the Economic Case (Federation of Small Businesses) 2018
2 Small Business Survey Scotland (2019)

With it being International Women’s Day on 8 March, there is no better time to champion gender equality, call for change, and show our support for women around the world.

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