21st Century Yorkshire women have their say!
17/05/2011
Savvy Yorkshire women in business had a strong message for the Coalition Government last night – provide increased and continued financial support for small and new businesses!
The message came from a Forward Ladies consultation event. The audience, which formed a cross section of professional women, gave opinions on a number of key business topics, led by guest speakers from government, retail and the media.
They also felt that although government cuts had affected business, there were new opportunities, that the coalition government needed to better represent local communities, that women’s views should be listened to, and that women should be more accurately portrayed in the media.
Sarah Morgan deputy head, Gender Equality Policy & Inclusion at the government Equality’s Office set the scene about women in the workplace, with women making up 51% of the population, and 46% of the workforce. Yet only 1 out of 12 directly elected mayors is a woman and just 2% of FTSE 100 chairs are female.
Using palmlet technology, the results were analysed and collated on the spot by Sheffield-based Live Group, which specialises in interactive engagement with its audiences.
The audience of 50 professional women voted on aspects of the economy ranging from easier access to finance and more accessible loan schemes for small businesses, to how deep the public spending cuts have impacted on small businesses.
Each table was able to directly input to the discussion using a keyboard linked to a central computer. When asked the one message the room would send to David Cameron which would make a difference to business, the overwhelming majority voted for more help for small businesses.
Other areas of concern included numbers of women on the boards of companies, tax incentives for SMEs, more help from banks through business loans, less red tape, business mentor support for start-ups and better links with schools to improve interest in business and entrepreneurship with young people.
David Parkin of thebusinessdesk.com led the business discussion and told the audience that the business prospects for this year would remain steady and flat, but that the outlook was more positive for next year.
He said: “Business in a challenge for everyone, and women bring skills to business which men have ignored for too long. Business needs to be more reflective of the real world, and needs to embrace the skills which young people, ethnic minorities and women can bring. Business needs to tackle the barriers but without positively discriminating.”
The entire audience was in complete agreement that spending cuts had had an effect on business. An uncertain future and redundancies meant there was less spending with the private sector and more caution given to spending on services. However, there were some positives as public sector and businesses become more creative and focussed on value for money.
There was good news too, as the majority of the audience saw the global and emerging markets as more of an opportunity than a threat, with a potential bigger market, clients looking to increase exports and opportunities for collaboration.
Sarah Dickens, People Operations and Policy Director of ASDA, was the guest speaker on Equality and Diversity. The company employs 180,000 people, of which 60% are women, with staff from all backgrounds. She told the audience that the company listens to its people to get the best business solution from the talent already within their business. She added that 80% of their customers are women, and the way they do things is to keep things practical and simple.
The company has a number of programmes, she said, to help their managers and also new mothers returning to work, including mentoring and flexible working schemes.
She said the acquisition of 147 Netto stores is creating new opportunities within the company for female managers. “However, many women need to be tapped on the shoulder and encouraged to grow their careers, and told “you can do it!””
She then led the discussion about barriers and opportunities for women to succeed, and comments from the floor included improvements in flexible and home working, better childcare, work life balance and differences in communication styles. However, it was recognised that small businesses could not afford some of the options and that perhaps government could provide some financial support. It was felt that many women suffer lack of confidence and low esteem which holds them back.
71 per cent of the audience, however, felt that they had the correct work/life balance, though women are still the major care givers, whether for their children or their ageing parents. The current generation is the “sandwich generation” caring for both their young and the elderly which impacts on their working lives.
Etta Cohen, of Forward Ladies said: “It is important to get the views of professional women in Yorkshire and to be able to feed them back to the relevant organisations so that we can instigate and lobby for change if it’s needed, to improve the profitability and competitiveness of our region, and women’s contribution to it. We were also very pleased to welcome representation from government, Asda and The Business Desk.
“It was the first time we have held such a comprehensive and important consultation with our members, and we are extremely pleased that we were able to facilitate such an intelligent and meaningful discussion with topics relevant to professional women."