Women in business

Abstract

The role women have in business and the impact they have on regional economies is of increasing interest. This article looks at how to monitor trends among women who are active in business and how to understand the way they work and what drives them. It's true to say information on the owners of businesses is limited and most is not broken down by sex. However regular data on self-employment for both women and men is available from the Labour Force Survey and this is often used as a proxy for business ownership. A high proportion of business ownership, around 90 per cent, is made up of the self-employed. The number of women who are self-employed has grown in recent years, but in isolation, this could be misleading. Much of the growth is in women working part-time and among those focusing on more flexible working patterns to fit into domestic commitments. The southern regions of the UK have higher self-employment rates than elsewhere, but the difference between regions is far less if full-time self-employment only is included. Some women, who think of themselves as self-employed, may only work for very few hours – for example, less than six hours a week.