Women in Business: UK Statistics [Infographic]

In this infographic titled “Women in Business”, we take a look at some of the most recent UK statistics of female involvement in business.

<p style="text-align:center;">
<img title="Women in Business: UK Statistics [Infographic]" src="https://www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk/wordpress/media/women-in-business-uk-statistics-infographic.png" alt="Women in Business: UK Statistics [Infographic]" />
Infographic by <a title="Ashburnham Insurance Services" href="https://www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk">Ashburnham Insurance</a></p>

Please credit www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk if you wish to use this image on your own blog or website!

Women-Led SMEs

In 2015, there were 5.4 million businesses in the United Kingdom.

According to the House of Commons Library in a briefing paper on business statistics (dated December 2015), over 99% of these UK businesses were Small or Medium Sized businesses. In other words, SMEs. Or SMBs, depending on your preference. Small and Medium Enterprises (or Businesses), as defined in the United Kingdom, are those that meet two out of three criteria:

• Less than 250 employees
• Turnover of less than £25m
• Gross assets of less than £12.5m

20% of SMEs in the United Kingdom are majority led by women, with 38% partially led by women. It is estimated that female-led SME businesses contribute approximately £75 billion to economic output in the UK; 16% of the SME approximate total. Under examination, women-led SMEs are also underrepresented in the traditionally male-dominated industries such as manufacturing and construction.

Female Start-ups

Crunch Accounting has reported that the number of women starting their own business has grown 42% since 2010. Almost a third of new businesses are founded by women – more women than ever before who are choosing to becoming their own boss. In 2015, the female TEA Rate is 4.7% among women, in comparison to 9.5% among men. TEA (Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity) includes the owning or running of a business less than 3 and a half years old, and the TEA rate is the proportion of the working aged population involved in TEA.

Women in the Boardroom

In 2015, 26% of FTSE100 board members were female, with a target of 33% by 2020 according to the House of Commons Library. There are no all-male boards in the FTSE100.

UK Executive Directors:

UK Non-Executive Directors:

Despite the boardroom gender gap rapidly closing over the past few years, boardroom representation remains uneven between genders. Less than 10% of executive directors are women at FTSE100 companies. Many observers have speculated that the lack of social mobility in these positions means that women may be kept out of the boardroom as a byproduct of members favouring those within a tight personal network. This may not necessarily be gender discrimination, but rather a very closed recruitment process that gives unfair advantage to those within certain privileged social circles.

However, the UK is still ahead of France and Germany in regard to female CEOs.