Women in Mid Scotland and Fife missing out on entrepreneurial opportunities

Claire Baker MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife has challenged the Scottish Government to turn its commitments to supporting women in business into action, after raising new figures in the Scottish Parliament showing a significant regional gender gap in entrepreneurial activity.

New figures from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor show that female entrepreneurial activity in Eastern Scotland stands at just 4.6%, compared with 8.7% across Scotland as a whole. The Eastern Scotland region used in the report includes Fife, alongside Angus, Dundee, Clackmannanshire, Perth and Kinross and Stirling.

Claire Baker MSP raised the findings in the Scottish Parliament, asking what assessment the Scottish Government has made of progress in tackling the barriers to women's participation in entrepreneurship.

The figures underline the importance of delivering the recommendations in Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship, the independent review led by Ana Stewart and Mark Logan and published in 2023. The review identified persistent barriers facing women who want to start and grow businesses, including access to finance and investment, business support and entrepreneurial education. It also highlighted the need for better data to understand whether the gender gap is closing.

Claire Baker MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife said:

“Women should have the opportunity to start and grow a business, but these figures show that there is still a significant gap in entrepreneurial activity between women and men, and between different parts of Scotland.

“Eastern Scotland has the lowest rates of female entrepreneurial activity in the country. That should concern us, particularly when we know the contribution that small businesses and entrepreneurs make to our local economies.

“The Pathways report set out a clear programme for addressing the barriers women face, from access to finance and investment to the availability of advice and support. The Scottish Government recognised the importance of those recommendations and made funding commitments, but we now need to see the results.

“The Scottish Government must demonstrate what progress it is making, whether its support is reaching women in areas like Mid Scotland and Fife, and what difference it is making to their ability to start and grow successful businesses.”