Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Official Report 945KB pdf

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Women in Business

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-03137, in the name of Michelle Thomson, on women in business. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite members who wish to participate to press their request-to-speak buttons or put an R in the chat function as soon as possible.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament acknowledges what it sees as the vital role played by women in business, including in the Falkirk East constituency; believes that diversity in business leadership is vital for a healthy economy; notes reports that female entrepreneurs and business leaders often face particular barriers in accessing finance and investment; recognises what it sees as the pioneering research undertaken by Women’s Enterprise Scotland; understands that the research shows that women reportedly start their businesses with 53% less capital than men do, ask for 30% less funding and consequently, it believes, are often hugely under-capitalised from the outset; further understands that, according to the research, only 14% of all capital raised went to women-led businesses, and that less than 15% of the UK’s business angels are women; notes the initiatives taken by the Scottish Government to support and promote women in business, and further notes the growing recognition that removing barriers to women will enhance leadership, decision making, ethics and performance in the business community.

17:03  

Before I start, I draw attention to the sunflower for Ukraine that I am wearing. It was made under the auspices of Space Art Scotland, which is a rehabilitation programme for prisoners—a wonderful idea.

The late Dr Jacob Bronowski argued that the feature that distinguishes human beings from other animals is that we have not only a significant biological history but a cultural history that helps to define who we are. Of course, women have a different biological and cultural history from men. I sum up the problem for women in business as follows: the cultural approach to business has been framed by men for men and simply does not reflect our wider society.

The motion speaks to what I think is an essential truth. If Scotland is to reach her economic potential, the power of women must be unleashed, and for that to happen we will have to see a major cultural shift. We need a culture for business and enterprise that enables women as well as men. There are real strengths in difference, and research literature demonstrates that diversity, particularly cognitive diversity, aids effective group-based decision making in business. On that point, although today’s debate is about women, I believe that we need more inclusive diversity across the board, and indeed on the boards.

There is much to commend in the progress that has been made in some areas over recent years. For example, in March 2014, the Scottish Government published a framework and action plan to increase the impact of women’s enterprise on the Scottish economy. Using a partnership approach, it has been pioneering and was the first of its kind anywhere in the European Union. Scotland established women’s enterprise ambassadors, and there have been many workshops, held by Government bodies such as Business Gateway and a range of private sector firms, all of which have focused on encouraging women in their business ambitions. However, that can never be enough when we face unstated cultural assumptions that continue to limit women’s engagement.

The barriers are quite profound. Research from Women’s Enterprise Scotland has found that women start their businesses with 53 per cent less capital than men, ask for 39 per cent less funding and, consequently, are hugely undercapitalised from the outset. Its research has also found that, every year, women-owned companies contribute to the Scottish economy £8.8 billion in gross value added, which is more than comes from food and drink, the creative industries or sustainable tourism.

Women have created more than 230,000 jobs, but that is not yet enough. I hope to see the day when women-owned businesses in Scotland have created closer to a million jobs, and I do not regard that as an unreasonable ambition.

The most recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report on women’s entrepreneurship was published in November 2021, and it provides both hopeful and worrying insights into recent trends. On the hopeful side, it points to the ambition of women-led businesses to increase their number of employees. In mid-2020, 30.2 per cent of women entrepreneurs who were surveyed expected to hire six or more employees in the next five years, which was an increase from only 18.7 per cent in the 2019 report. Although that is encouraging, it is still less than the 48 per cent of men who have high expectations for growth.

However, as Global Entrepreneurship Monitor makes clear, the patterns of entrepreneurship vary widely when comparing women and men. In 2020, women far exceeded men on the rate of solo entrepreneurship, or solopreneurship, but that factor could indicate an inability to access finance at the same rate and stages as men rather than necessarily a business or lifestyle choice. Those types of businesses add value and can start to break the barriers. For example, INDEZ, which recently gave evidence to the Economy and Fair Work Committee, writes of a study that suggests that e-commerce is breaking the mould in gender equality. It suggests that, unlike in the gaming industry or other areas of digital, around 50 per cent of business owners in e-commerce are female.

We can learn from areas of progress beyond our shores. Some time ago, I was fascinated to listen to a TED talk by Halla Tómasdóttir, who managed to take her company, Audur Capital, through the eye of the financial storm in Iceland from 2007 onwards by applying so-called feminine values to financial services. I will mention just two of those values, the first of which is risk. Tómasdóttir argues that we should not be risk averse in preventing innovation, but nor should we be cavalier with risk, which was characteristic of testosterone-filled males who were the authors of the financial crash. I would also argue that risk assessment today must take a different approach, given that its history and development have been fundamentally about men-owned businesses.

Women face particular risks that go beyond finance. Tómasdóttir makes the point that businesses do not succeed on the basis of spreadsheets, but through people. Her argument reminded me of my days in businesses where one particular role sought to deliver transformational change. I always used the phrase that we must deliver “through people, and not to people”, so her focus on due diligence involving emotional capital gives us all much to consider.

Some would argue that Government support for businesses during the pandemic has been gender neutral, but the actuality and the distribution of funding tells a different story: one not of neutrality, but of gender blindness. The United Nations describes gender blindness as including an inability

“to realize that policies, programmes and projects can have different impact on men, women, boys and girls.”

One example—with thanks again to research from Women’s Enterprise Scotland—is the distribution of the pivotal enterprise resilience fund, or PERF for short. It provided bespoke grants and wraparound business support to viable but vulnerable small and medium-sized enterprises in Scotland during the pandemic. Proportionately more funding was given to male-led than female-led businesses in every local authority area. In Angus, East Dunbartonshire and East Lothian, no funding whatsoever was allocated to female-led businesses from PERF.

I support a more rigorous and comprehensive approach to capturing and disseminating the gender-based data that we need not only for monitoring policy impact but for designing policies in the first place. On the two committees on which I sit, I have, on more than one occasion, raised that issue with a number of bodies in Scotland, only to find out that such data is not yet being gathered and disseminated as standard practice.

We need to take issues regarding women in business very seriously. I ask the Scottish Government to reflect on all policies and all strategies to ascertain, where appropriate, how they support women into business and those already in business. For example, the recent retail strategy mentions women but does not go far enough to flesh out specifically how women can be at the heart of retail’s future.

Professor Sara Carter of the University of Strathclyde said:

“Research shows that if women started businesses at the same rate as men, the number of entrepreneurs in the UK would increase dramatically. While the under-representation of women in entrepreneurship is an international concern, relative to other high-income countries, Scotland’s rates of female business ownership are persistently low.”

That is a rallying call for us all.

Access to finance is critical. We need an in-depth understanding of cultural barriers. Our programmes must ensure equality for women in business and we must continue the good work that has already been started to stamp out misogyny. There is a long way to go yet to create a level playing field for women in business, and I believe that this Parliament and this Government will play a leading role in that endeavour. Scotland means business and that means women in business.

17:12  

I congratulate Michelle Thomson on securing the debate, which I am glad to speak in, and I acknowledge the excellent work being done by Women’s Enterprise Scotland.

Right across the country, women play a vital role in business. When it comes to ownership, however, only 17 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises are led by women, according to the latest “Small Business Survey Scotland”. As in other aspects of society, women face particular challenges in business and we must do more to break down those barriers.

When I was a councillor—which I was until less than a week ago—I chaired Business Gateway Lanarkshire for a while and I got to meet many talented entrepreneurs. I know the particular challenges that women can face, including disproportionate caring responsibilities, and sometimes there is a lack of confidence in an area that is dominated by men. That lack of confidence is perhaps reflected in the statistics on women starting business with much less capital than men and asking for less money in funding bids.

It has been recognised, including by Business Gateway, that women in business want more opportunities for networking and mentoring, often with other women who are or have been in similar situations. Many women have experience of being a main caregiver, and having to juggle that with work and other life commitments is often very difficult. There is also the issue of misogyny and women’s health needs, about which there was a great discussion at the cross-party group on women in enterprise last week. It is crucial that we do as much as possible to tailor support for women’s wellbeing, and that is true in business, too.

On policy, the Scottish Government has committed to establishing a women’s business centre, which will be supported with investment of £50 million over this parliamentary session. The centre will ensure that women-led businesses have accessible, relevant advice and the right support. Women’s Enterprise Scotland has already launched a digital version of that, and I encourage any women who are in business or are considering setting up a business to look it up.

Another commitment from the Scottish Government, as part of the work to support women in business, is the funding support that will be given to 100 women per year to develop pioneering business ideas. That welcome policy will support many women entrepreneurs.

There will also be a review to investigate and make recommendations on the gender gap and opportunities in business, and consider things such as education, financing and support and mentoring. I hope that the review’s short, medium and long-term recommendations will help to remove barriers and support women in and into business.

In Scotland, women-owned businesses contribute an estimated £8.8 billion to the economy and directly employ almost 250,000 people. That represents huge benefits for the women leading those companies, the employees, the Exchequer and our society as a whole. Just imagine how, when we break down the barriers faced by women in business, those benefits will multiply.

17:15  

I thank Michelle Thomson for bringing the motion to Parliament and I am delighted to contribute to the debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives.

Women in business is a subject that is extremely close to my heart. As some members may know, after my father sadly passed away in my teenage years, I had to step up and run the family business. Not only did I run the family business, but later I changed the model to transfer it into a portfolio of properties so that I could pursue my career and my education. It was not without its challenges. I was thrown in at the deep end and had to learn to swim without guidance or support, as an Asian girl in a male-dominated business environment. I am proud to stand here today knowing that times have changed.

As a trustee of many women’s groups, I have seen many women start up a business from the kitchen or garage and turn a small dream into reality. On many occasions, the greatest challenge for women in business is infrastructure: they need allies, investment and support. A report showed that doubling the number of women-led businesses and increasing their productivity by about 40 per cent would power around £50 billion into the United Kingdom in gross value added, and would add about 50,000 new female entrepreneurs and 260,000 more women-led businesses to the UK economy by 2030. This year, women-owned businesses in Scotland accounted for only 14 per cent of SMEs, which is down from 20.6 per cent in 2017.

How do we turn that around? As a member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, I am no stranger to the topic of women’s inequality in the labour market. The statistics that are outlined in the motion emphasise the challenges. Professor Norin Arshed told the committee that we need more collaboration with financial institutions in order to understand access to financial support. She also highlighted concerns about duplication and confusion over what is effective, who is doing what and what is going where. That kind of confusion puts women off—attempting to wade through bureaucracy to apply for funding puts them off.

I welcome the First Minister’s £50 million of funding for the national women’s business centre, but it is unclear what stage its development is at and how exactly it intends to support and empower women entrepreneurs. Those issues can be ironed out with more accurate data on women’s participation in our labour market.

Currently we lack data on what works and what does not work; we do not know what type of support works that takes into account women’s intersectional differences, whether she is black, Asian and minority ethnic, has children, has a dependant or is single. This is not me taking an opportunity to bash the SNP. It is important that we get it right for those women and ensure that investments are effective and not wasted opportunities.

Investing in supporting women-led businesses has great social and economic value. I welcome the commitment to invest in a women’s business centre, but it must not be another botched SNP project, cluttered with bureaucracy. First, we need more detailed data on women’s participation in the labour market, showing what is happening on the ground, to inform more accurate support mechanisms for funding streams. Secondly, we need more clarity on the women’s business centre. For example, what support will it offer and how will it function? Last but not least, we need to see more promotional campaigns on the social and economic impact of investing in women-led businesses.

17:20  

I congratulate Michelle Thomson on securing today’s members’ business debate and for her great speech. I also thank her for becoming the deputy convener of the cross-party group on women in enterprise. I have chaired it for six years now and after listening to Pam Gosal’s speech, I would love it if she would consider joining as a member because there is a lot that she could add to the CPG. Many of the women entrepreneurs who come to the cross-party group on women in enterprise are business leaders and are active in the consultation on shaping the new women’s business centre. Pam Gosal might get quite a lot of comfort and answers from hearing those voices, because they are very much involved.

It was interesting to hear what Pam Gosal said about how she ended up being a business leader and the drivers for that. Reflecting on my business career before I came to the Parliament and hearing the stories of many other women in the cross-party group of how they got into business, I notice that relatively few of them ever thought, “I want to run a business”—circumstances led them to set up in business. In my case, I had two small children and I wanted to be in control of what I did of a week. My profession related to the media and I wanted to be able to pick and choose what I did because childcare was an issue. It was never a dream as such; it was almost a necessity. I think that that is the case for quite a lot of women.

I was totally comfortable being a business entrepreneur in a man’s world. I was working in a very male environment in television production and I was also offshore a lot, doing a lot of work on safety. That never bothered me, but I never scaled up and I never ever went to any so-called networking or business events. I never did that kind of thing because that aspect seemed a bit like “Dragon’s Den”, and I did not like that.

When I came to this job and became active in the CPG, I found out that I was not an anomaly. Support does not necessarily mean the traditional networking events, the traditional funding opportunities and those structures. Support also means nurturing and being in a female environment where you have that soft support.

Recently, I did a podcast on women in enterprise, “Scale Her Up”, with Brenda Hector. She asked me, “What do you think you’d be doing now if you were still doing your business?” I reflected on what would have become of my business if I had had to go through the pandemic and I wondered whether I would have adapted or whether I would have sunk. Those are the questions that a lot of women entrepreneurs are dealing with now, post-pandemic—or not even post-pandemic—where they have adapted to the circumstances that they are in. There has to be a real focus on helping women whose businesses may have suffered. A lot of them are involved in things like hair and beauty, art, media, music, textiles and so on, and those are probably the hardest-hit areas. There may need to be some targeted support to keep them going.

I will end on one idea, which I have had for quite a considerable time. There are an awful lot of disciplines in our colleges that lend themselves to entrepreneurship and self-employment but the students do not get support on how to set up a business. That is a real failing of the college sector. The courses on music, art, hair, beauty, media, textiles—a lot of things that women enjoy doing and may end up becoming self-employed in, usually as a knee-jerk reaction to circumstances rather than anything else—need to have a component that helps women to hit the ground running when they graduate. If we give early support at college level we will find ourselves with a lot more women-led businesses in the future.

17:24  

I acknowledge Michelle Thomson’s efforts in securing this important debate and I appreciated her speech very much. We are both members of the Economy and Fair Work Committee and I welcome the attention that my committee is giving to equality in business and the workplace. It is not just for the women members of the committee to speak about those issue, but I think that the committee is the most gender balanced that the Parliament’s economy committee has ever been and I hope that will be reflected in our work.

Women’s role in the economy has been marginalised for too long. Last week, Carolyn Currie from Women’s Enterprise Scotland, which has campaigned for a women’s business centre, described to the committee how a similar model in Canada and the US has led to them having the highest percentage of women-owned businesses. In the US, 40 per cent of businesses are owned by women, which is at least double the figure in the UK. The number of women-led employer businesses in Scotland has declined from 20.6 per cent in 2017 to just 14 per cent in 2019. That is the latest data. The statistic of 14 per cent of women-led businesses is, however, at odds with data that suggests that 51 per cent of new start-ups are led by women.

Does the member believe that we should be collecting more data, given that there is a big gap in data? She said that the data comes from 2019 and there is nothing after that.

I recognise the point about data that Pam Gosal made in the debate. I will come to that later and amplify the comments that she made. I think that we have agreement in the chamber on that.

The majority of women who are newly self-employed and the increase in those who are becoming self-employed is unprecedented. Historically, women have made up just over a quarter of self-employed people, but since the 2008 downturn, 58 per cent of the newly self-employed have been female. For a growing proportion of women, self-employment does not appear to be a choice—a point that other members have made—but is a necessity that is driven by factors such as public sector job losses, the uprating of the female retirement age or a need to accommodate caring responsibilities. One fifth of women said that they entered self-employment because of a lack of other employment opportunities.

The commitment of £50 million across this session of Parliament to support women into entrepreneurship is welcome, but we need a smart approach to that investment, which works to reverse the declining trend of growth-orientated women-led employer businesses. We need progress on the national women’s business centre. That can build on the work by Women’s Enterprise Scotland in launching the digital women’s business centre in 2020, which has proved to be a great resource for sharing knowledge and expertise and encouraging more women to start up and then grow their businesses.

There is a growing recognition that women’s business support needs to be specific. That is underlined by figures showing that men are twice as likely to start a business as women and that pre-pandemic, only 21 per cent of Scotland’s SMEs were majority-led by women. The characteristics of these businesses are also different, with women-led businesses being more likely to be run by younger sole traders, operating from home, working in the service sector and with a lower average turnover and employment. We need a policy response that supports women to grow and expand their businesses and that values their contribution to the economy and society.

WES has highlighted a number of challenges that are faced by women. They include discrimination and difficulties in accessing procurement, finance, sales training and scaling-up support. In particular, the one-size-fits-all approach to access to finance for start-ups or growth does not work for many women. Women are more reluctant to take on loans and risk debt, particularly if they need to take time away from their employment to start a business. Those are all points that we need to consider in relation to a more tailored advice and support route for gender-based interventions that recognise and value women-led businesses, in sectors that are often devalued and overlooked when we are supporting growth sectors, and when promoting business growth strategies for women.

We have heard lots of quotes that are shocking to everybody in the chamber. British Business Bank found that female founders received just 1p in every £1 of venture capital. That means that men are receiving 99 times more venture capital than women across the UK. We need to see specific action to address difficulties in accessing financial support for women and action on the lack of gender-disaggregated data. The Scottish Government has said that it will look at that but we need to see progress on how to better capture and publish information.

Finally, the Government’s strategy for economic transformation recognises some of the issues but talks about addressing them in broad terms. It highlights the gender gap in the total rate of early-stage entrepreneurial activity, but goes on to state that the intention is to increase new businesses of all sizes and in all sectors rather than pointing to focused action. Where the document indicates targets to focus and improve access to support for underrepresented groups, including women, it states:

“An early priority will be to deliver our commitment to review how we support more women into entrepreneurship.”

I would like to see more ambition there. The forthcoming delivery plans are critical to progress. I seek assurances from the minister that delivery plans will address the need to grow women-owned businesses across all sectors.

17:30  

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I congratulate Michelle Thomson on securing it and on setting out so clearly the issues and the challenges facing women in business. It has been good to hear everybody else’s contributions so far.

I will focus my contribution on welcoming the positive steps that have been made to support women in business and on congratulating fantastic and inspirational women in business across the South Scotland region.

The business landscape is changing in Scotland. Covid-19 pandemic aside, we are seeing that attitudes to traditional ways of doing business are changing and there is evidence to suggest that women are playing a large role in shaping the future of business. Research suggests—this is a powerful statistic—that if the level of female ownership of businesses in Scotland matched the level of male ownership, the size of our economy would increase by 5 per cent, which equates to £7.6 billion. That is another £7.6 billion if more women-owned businesses in our economy. Enabling more women into business is good not just for women; it will make us all more prosperous.

Scotland is making huge progress in achieving that objective. Recently, PWC published its “Women in Work Index 2022” and the good news from that report is that it ranks Scotland as one of the best places in the UK for workplace gender equality. One reason is that Scotland’s gender pay gap is at an all-time low. Last year, for full-time employees it was 5.7 per cent. That is significantly lower than across the UK as a whole, where it is 8.6 per cent. However, the pay gap for all employees, regardless of gender and including part-time work, is much bigger at 15 per cent, although it is declining and it is lower in Scotland than in other parts of the UK. This is largely down to the close partnership working between the Scottish Government, private business and the third sector, such as through the Scottish Government’s women in enterprise framework and fund. That is welcome, and I ask the minister for a commitment that initiatives like this will continue to be available to help women excel and to tackle the barriers that face women in business.

Across Dumfries and Galloway, inspirational women are excelling in business, particularly small business. Dumfries and Galloway has been identified as a female entrepreneurship hotspot in a new analysis from the Federation of Small Businesses. Official figures show that 10.4 per cent of working-age women in Dumfries and Galloway are self-employed—the second highest rate in the country, behind only Moray. Sandra Patterson, a Stranraer-based business owner, Women’s Enterprise Scotland ambassador and FSB member, said:

“It is great to see my part of the country high on the women in business league table.”

Across the region, we have the Dumfries and Galloway Dairy Women Network, which is open to women involved in dairy and the wider agricultural sector. The network promotes discussion, learning, engagement—and nurturing. It is a bit of a spinoff from the extremely successful Women in Agriculture, which is supported by Scottish Government funding. Dumfries and Galloway also boasts Roan’s Dairy, which is managed and led by Aylett and Tracey Roan. They have gone from strength to strength, providing milk from the dairy herds, employing local workers, and creating the Udder Bar, which is an alternative to selling booze that serves delicious milkshakes at local agriculture events and, pre-pandemic, at the Royal Highland Show. The Ethical Dairy produces sought-after cheeses and ice cream and is managed by an excellent role model, Wilma Finlay.

So much business diversity is seen across Dumfries and Galloway and even in other parts of my South Scotland region. In Eyemouth, Hazel Smith founded ReTweed, which is an award winning social enterprise. There are so many more. Joanne Heard started the Galloway Soup Company from a farmers market stall and now has a successful cafe and shop in Dalbeattie. We have got so many: Fiona McElrea; Lorraine Galloway of Wigtown Wigwams; Lynne Atkinson at the Whitehouse Gallery; Suzanne Thorpe of the Star restaurant in Twynholm.

There is a fair wheen of fantastic and inspirational women in business across the region and I want to thank them all for being role models to other women and for their contribution to our economy and our country.

17:35  

I thank Michelle Thomson for bringing the debate to the chamber. My background includes 20 years in the finance sector and what struck me, when Michelle Thomson was talking, was the lack of women who came forward looking for finance at that time. Things have probably changed, but nowhere near enough.

I will talk about Women’s Enterprise Scotland, which the motion refers to. As we know, it is a research-led community interest company that champions women-led and women-owned business. It advocates for better evidence-based policymaking and believes that delivering expert business support will enable women to fulfil their aspirations and unlock £8.8 billion-worth of economic potential to boost the economy, as we have heard.

WES works in collaboration with local, national and international partners towards the vision of gender equal, diverse and inclusive business systems that will allow innovation and productivity to thrive. WES was created as a voice for women-owned businesses in Scotland and to promote policy and best practice that enables women to successfully start up—which is a big challenge—and grow their own businesses.

If Scotland is to be as successful as possible, the simple fact is that we need more women-owned businesses. WES research showed that women-owned businesses already contribute £8.8 billion to the economy, which we have talked about. They also create over 230,000 jobs in local communities throughout Scotland, yet women-owned businesses are just 20 per cent of the business base in Scotland, which means that 80 per cent of businesses are owned by men. That is not right under any measure at all.

WES says that its ambition is to

“encourage more women and girls to try out their business ideas, through the provision of needs-based support co-designed by women-owned businesses and experts in gender techniques. We have an ambition to double the numbers of women-owned businesses, boost the economy by at least another £8.8 billion, create a further 230,000 jobs and ultimately consign the current gender gap in enterprise to history.”

I want to discuss an initiative that has the ambition for Scotland to become a global leader in women’s entrepreneurship. Carolyn Currie recently became entrepreneur in residence at Queen Margaret University in East Lothian. She believes that the women’s business centre that the QMU intends to launch could help unlock the £8 billion activity that I mentioned and provide a model that could be exported globally. The centre is expected to be the first of its kind in the UK that focuses on women. Carolyn Currie reckons that it could help address barriers that prevent women from maximising the potential they have to become successful business builders. She said that

“That could be an economic game-changer for Scotland.”

Ms Currie is also chief executive of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, an organisation that she helped to found. She went on to say:

“This isn’t just about creating more women entrepreneurs, it’s about that extra £8 billion that could go into the economy. But also, innovation happens in a diverse landscape; if we don’t have a diverse eco-system we are significantly restricting our capacity to innovate.”

Ms Currie held senior roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland before becoming the chief operating officer at WES in 2015. She stated that

“the activity of the centre will be informed by a consultation with local women-owned businesses as well as staff and students at the university. This will ensure that the needs of women are placed at the heart of the service design”

of the business centre. Research undertaken by WES highlighted a range of challenges facing women, including access to funding and to specific growth resources. About a third of respondents had experienced impressions of discrimination. Networking opportunities—and I think Gillian Martin mentioned this—can be hard to come by for women.

The centre will be housed in the innovation hub and is expected to open at QMU in 2025. It could be one of the initiatives that benefits from the £50 million commitment from the SNP to support women’s enterprise. Technology entrepreneur Ana Stewart has been commissioned by finance secretary Kate Forbes to lead a short-term review of how best to target that support and help more women realise their business ambitions.

I want to work closely with Carolyn Currie, QMU and women business owners in East Lothian and Scotland to give us the economic boost that should be achievable. My daughter Kirsty is 24 and she has talked many times about having her own business at some stage. Her ambition should not be limited by inbuilt disadvantages. I am sure that she will own a business one day.

I will close with a quote from Kamala Harris:

“Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they’ve never seen it before.”

We need to ensure that more women have that opportunity and can see themselves owning a business.

17:39  

It is great to be here to respond to a very important debate that Michelle Thomson has secured. Knowing Michelle Thomson, as I have for a number of years, it is no surprise that she has brought this debate to the Parliament. Her real commitment to advancing the agenda of women in business is very well understood.

I will reflect on some of the contributions in an excellent debate in which there has been valuable input from members across the chamber.

Michelle Thomson highlighted the importance of culture, which is a very important aspect of the issue that needs to be taken into account, and the very real barriers that women who are starting businesses face—in particular, undercapitalisation. Many members have raised that point, and I want to address it in my remarks. Michelle Thomson set some very ambitious targets for the number of employees that she would like to see working in women-owned businesses. It is great to set those ambitions, and we can all work together towards achieving them.

Michelle Thomson also highlighted the importance of data. Many members across the chamber have raised that issue, and that is something else that I will talk about.

Collette Stevenson raised the very important issue of women in business and confidence, and the lack of confidence that prevents women from progressing in their business careers. She also highlighted many of the actions that the Scottish Government is taking to address and make progress on the issue of more women in business. I will talk about that in a bit more detail.

Pam Gosal talked about her personal experience in business, the challenges that that threw up, and the need for investment and targeted support.

Gillian Martin likewise talked about her personal experience in business. Like her, I have often reflected on what my business would have looked like if it had had to survive through the past couple of years of Covid, which have been hugely challenging times. As Gillian Martin and other members have highlighted, they have been particularly challenging for women-owned businesses in specific sectors.

I commend Gillian Martin for her leadership of the cross-party group on women in enterprise over the past six years and the great work that she has done in that regard. On her idea of college support for business start-ups, we identified in the national strategy doing more with further and higher education and, indeed, in the school system to support those who want to start up businesses. Targeting that support specifically at courses through which students and women in particular are more likely to start up businesses is a very good idea, and we will take a look at that.

Claire Baker highlighted the challenges around investment and access to venture capital. She mentioned some unbelievably bad statistics that require to be addressed. I will cover that issue. I had a meeting with a woman who has run a very successful international exporting business in which she highlighted that very issue to me. The trouble that she has had in attracting investment capital has been a significant drag on the business. She highlighted some statistics in that regard that are hugely troubling and concerning.

Emma Harper highlighted examples of women in business in the south of Scotland. It is always a pleasure to visit South Scotland with Emma Harper and to tour around businesses in the region. The next time I go there, perhaps we can try to organise a tour of some of the excellent women-owned businesses that she highlighted. There is also the point that the statistics show that, for some reason, the south of Scotland has highlighted significantly higher numbers of women in business there than there are elsewhere. It would be really good to dig a bit deeper into that.

Does the minister prefer cheese, beer or ice cream?

I do not know why there has to be a choice, minister.

As Emma Harper knows, I cram in a lot of visits on my business tours, so I think that we will find room for all three in a tour of the south of Scotland.

Last but not least, Paul McLennan commented on the great work of Women’s Enterprise Scotland and much else that is happening to advance the agenda, and his commitment to work to take forward the agenda. That is hugely welcome because, at the end of the day, men need a deep understanding of the challenges that women face in business if we are to address the issues and seek a resolution that works for not just women in business but the whole of Scotland’s economy. Many members have highlighted that.

In 2014, the Scottish Government, working with partners across the public, private and third sectors, launched the women in enterprise framework and action plan. That was refreshed in 2017. The Scottish Government has funded partner organisations to deliver programmes that support the framework’s key themes, including Women’s Enterprise Scotland’s ambassador programme, the Investing Women Angels accelerateHER programme, and the programme for growth delivered by Business Women Scotland. Earlier this year, additional funding was delivered by the Scottish technology ecosystem review fund to projects that support women in Scotland’s tech sector. That addresses a point that Claire Baker raised about supporting women across all sectors of the economy.

Some progress has been made, but it is clear that an awful lot more needs to be done. That is why the Government has committed funding of £50 million over this parliamentary session to support more women to start, grow and sustain thriving businesses.

To help to shape the approach, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, Kate Forbes, has asked the founder of i-design Group plc, Ana Stewart, to undertake a whole-system review of the women’s enterprise ecosystem in Scotland. We look forward very much to that review and its recommendations, which will form part of our wider work to transform Scotland’s economy, as set out in the national strategy, with its very clear focus on making sure that we tackle inequality across all aspects of our economy. It is very clear that the issue of the poor rate of women’s start-up businesses is a key part of that. That work will require a radical transformation in the way that we deliver results, and it will ensure that new approaches and the infrastructure that we build, such as the network of tech-scaler hubs, will be designed to be inclusive and to work for everyone from the outset.

The issue of investment has been raised many times in the debate. Pioneering organisations such as Investing Women Angels have invested more than £2 million in 22 companies. More than 90 per cent of funds have gone to female-founded businesses since Investing Women Angels’s first investment in 2015. It has recently announced a ground-breaking collaboration with the Scottish National Investment Bank to develop a new fund that is focused exclusively on women and minority founders based in Scotland. That fund would make Scotland among the very few European nations with a bespoke seed investment fund focused on stimulating the growth of female-led companies.

Shifting the needle on investment requires a shift in mindset from the investment sector itself. I am encouraged to see Scottish angel groups, including Equity Gap and Scottish Equity Partners, demonstrating their commitment to advancing female entrepreneurship and access to finance by signing the investing in women code.

Increasing the diversity of the finance sector and encouraging more women to become active investors—especially those who have achieved success in business—will play a part in removing the barriers that women face. That is why the Scottish technology ecosystem review fund has supported Mint Ventures in raising awareness and understanding of investment among women.

The issue of data has been raised as absolutely something that requires attention. Members who have read with interest the national strategy for economic transformation and the accompanying evidence paper will recognise that there are data points there. However, we all recognise that more needs to be done in that regard. Ana Stewart identified that issue in her review. The Scottish Government is currently trialling commercial data packages that offer real-time access to business information. The business support partnership, which I met recently, is also looking at improving access to data. Work is therefore on-going.

I congratulate Women’s Enterprise Scotland on its 10th anniversary. For the past decade, it has been at the forefront of the drive to close the gender gap in enterprise participation in Scotland and, indeed, on the international stage. We value its voice as a partner and a critical friend. It has never wavered in championing the needs of women in the business world.

In conclusion, as a Government, we are determined to lead on closing the gender gap in business start-up and growth not just because we know that that makes clear economic sense but because we know that that is absolutely the right thing to do. Let me be absolutely clear: it is simply unacceptable that, in 2022, women should continue to face barriers to their participation in business. An economy in which everyone is supported and empowered to seize opportunities and fully achieve their potential is absolutely vital to Scotland’s future.

That concludes the debate. I close this meeting of Parliament.

Meeting closed at 17:49.