A new report by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned that employers will continue to lose entrepreneurial women if they fail to adapt flexible or innovative working practices that
Its report, ‘Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs’ states that “urgent action” needs to be taken by the corporate world to stem the leaking talent pipeline that could hinder the progress of growth.
Highlighting that although there are currently more than 2.4 million unemployed women who want to work, it also says that if there were as many female entrepreneurs as there are male entrepreneurs, GDP could be boosted by 10% by 2030.
CIPD revealed that it interviewed a number of women to find out what made them go solo, what has made them thrive and what they think would encourage more to set up on their own, in order to gain an insight into what motivates female entrepreneurs and makes them successful.
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Commenting on its findings, CIPD Public Policy Adviser, Dianah Worman, said:
“It’s clear from our research that women have a lot to offer to the economy – be it by starting up their own businesses or by letting their entrepreneurial flair and business savvy shine in the corporate world.
“Employers need to act out of self-interest to broaden the pools of talent available to them and ensure they do not lose out on the skills, energy and passion women can bring to their workplaces if they were allowed to work more autonomously and flexibly.
She added:
“Government is right to actively stimulate the wider take up of flexible working by employers and to seek to support women in setting up and growing their own enterprises. It makes perfect sense to find ways of helping them to do this in order to build economic growth.”
The research also found that the key drivers that motivate women to set up on their own are the desire for more autonomy and the need for greater work-life balance, while the CIPD said that more women would be motivated to start a business if they had access to advice with quality guidance on financial business planning, franchising, up-skilling and training.
