Surge in female SME owners as gender gap narrows
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International Women’s Day has been capped off by a report today showing a surge in the number of female owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) over the past year.
The analysis of more than 1.4m small businesses revealed the number of SMEs owned by women rose 31 per cent in 2019, according to SME insurer Simply Business. The share of men taking up ownership positions increased by 21 per cent during the same period.
While male owners continue to outnumber their female counterparts, Bea Montoya, chief operating officer at Simply Business heaped praise on the upward trend in the number of women at the helm of SMEs.
Montoya said: “It’s fantastic to see more women than ever before taking the leap into small business – whether that’s turning a hobby into a livelihood, or using professional experience to go it alone.”
“Small business is crucial to the UK economy, and more and more, women are leading the way. We’re seeing that the number of female-owned small businesses are growing at a faster rate than those owned by men.”
Between 2016 and 2019 the number of SMEs owned by women has risen by 58 per cent, increasing consistently over the four-year period.
“Given the number continues to rise consistently year-on-year, we can only expect this to continue into 2020 and beyond. We’re proud to recognise and support thousands of women up and down the UK who are running successful and thriving small businesses,” Montoya said.
Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day, which fell yesterday, is a celebration of the achievements made by women, as well as a recognition of the obstacles that stand in their way.