Women's enterprise
The Leicester experience is one in which ethnic minority women play an increasingly important part, and it is recognised in many societies that increasing their contribution to entrepreneurial activity is vital, for women and for society; the question is how. There is growing interest in both theoretical exploration and practical development of female entrepreneurship on a worldwide basis. Historically, women have been less active than men in formal entrepreneurship, if this is measured by the statistics of business ownership or the GEM report. However, this understates the informal roles which women have played in businesses owned by men or in family and village enterprises. Also, there have been powerful forces to discourage and constrain their participation in business in many societies. Generally these are diminishing, with a few 'hardline' exceptions, such as Saudi Arabia.
How can female entrepreneurship be developed? There are at least three reasons why this is a vital area both for academic study and for practical action. First, entrepreneur- ship can provide women with independent income, by helping to alleviate poverty or dependence and increasing the lifestyle choices they can make for themselves and their families. The significance of this in developing economies should not be underestimated as a potential contribution to their economic and social empowerment.
Second, as levels of education for women increase, their capabilities, ambitions and expectations of career roles also grow. Levels of female graduates in the UK and other developed countries continue to increase. Whilst at present female rates of entrepreneurial participation in most age groups are just over half those for men, these are also increasing. However, the availability of jobs to meet women's career aspirations and preferences is not keeping pace with this development in all societies, and for an increasing number, self- employment and entrepreneurship will be a better career option at certain stages in their careers. For women with family responsibilities, for example, running their own business is an option they may be able to manage more flexibly and with greater reward than a part-time job. However support measures for mid-career female entrepreneurship need to be explicitly addressed, for example through education and training for women who are considering or preparing to start business ventures (Diamond, 2003).
The third reason is that the types of business created by women are often qualitatively different from those started by men. They will see different opportunities, have different ideas, and use their skills and social contacts in different ways, contributing to a greater diversity of business activity. The inclusive new business models and approaches to enter¬prise which are needed are very likely to originate from female entrepreneurship. The real progress made in social enterprise has resulted in large part from the networking and collective action of enterprising women. An example of this is Banmujer, the Women's
Development Bank of Venezuela. This was formed in 1999 by Nora Castaneda and a network of women's groups. They had found that conventional banks were reluctant to lend money to women who wanted to start businesses but had no assets to guarantee the loans. State-funded, all its employees are women and it makes loans to women who work as part of a group who co-operate on business projects. Through its network of field advisors, the bank also provides business, financial, legal and health advice. Examples such as this show how female and social entrepreneurship are moving into the mainstream and changing the nature of mainstream business activity.