Women As Entrepreneurs
01/10/2007 - London
Women As Entrepreneurs
This morning, Margaret Manning, CEO Reading Room, gave a presentation to the 'Women as Leaders' conference at the Institute of Directors. Other speakers included Bibiana Boerio, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars, and Emma Harrison, Chairman of A4e. Margaret's presentation, 'Women as Entrepreneurs', met with an exceptionally positive response as Margaret highlighted the challenges a businesswoman faces when setting up and running a successful and growing company.
The presentation included some particularly interesting and exceptional statistics about Reading Room, in particular that 20% of applicants are female; 23% of employees are female; and 46% of senior manager are female - whereas across the entire digital industry, less than 20% of the workforce is female.
Margaret discussed the challenges Reading Room, and other businesses, face in recruiting and promoting women in a growing business. She suggested that the solutions to this problem are to:
- Actively challenge recruitment norms
- Actively challenge internal perceptions to ensure that talent is promoted wherever it is found
- Provide an environment where women are accepted, challenged and rewarded
Another highlight of the presentation was a discussion about how women live with the 'guilt' factor about not spending enough time with, and missing key events surrounding, children partners and parents - Margaret called this the "female trap". She also recommended ways that women can make themselves better accepted internally and externally.
Margaret concluded her presentation by explaining that while it is difficult for women to succeed as entrepreneurs, women must not let the odds scare them. She said, "Just accept that you will need more brains, more support, and more hard work to get there. It's up to us to make the fundamental changes."
