Women's Enterprise: A Critical Examination of National Policies

Abstract

Against a background of perceptions of women's low participation in entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom, this paper critically reviews recent policy developments in the provision of public sector support for women in enterprise. The available statistical evidence for women's participation in business ownership in the United Kingdom is reviewed against comparative data from the USA that is promoted by the UK government as a potential benchmark. We argue that programming and resource-issue problems are evidenced in new policies that are a direct consequence of lack of data. Next, policy is tested against various paradigmatic stances in women's enterprise support, and problematic areas in poverty alleviation, social inclusion, advocacy, access to finance, and gender mainstreaming are discussed. Selected literature that addresses barriers identified to women's enterprise is reviewed, and issues of confidence, risk, motivation to business start-up, and childcare are discussed in terms of programming. We conclude that, although the Department of Trade and Industry/Small Business Service Strategic Framework for Women's Enterprise in England is flawed, the framework has assembled a broad church of opinions and approaches to women's enterprise support in a democratic, participative, and cross-cutting fashion.

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