- Home
- News & Blogs
- About Us
- What We Do
- Our Communities
- Info Centre
- Press
- Contact
- Archive 2019
- 2015 Elections: 11 new BME MP’s make history
- 70th Anniversary of the Partition of India
- Black Church Manifesto Questionnaire
- Brett Bailey: Exhibit B
- Briefing Paper: Ethnic Minorities in Politics and Public Life
- Civil Rights Leader Ratna Lachman dies
- ELLE Magazine: Young, Gifted, and Black
- External Jobs
- FeaturedVideo
- FeaturedVideo
- FeaturedVideo
- Gary Younge Book Sale
- George Osborne's budget increases racial disadvantage
- Goldsmiths Students' Union External Trustee
- International Commissioners condemn the appalling murder of Tyre Nichols
- Iqbal Wahhab OBE empowers Togo prisoners
- Job Vacancy: Head of Campaigns and Communications
- Media and Public Relations Officer for Jean Lambert MEP (full-time)
- Number 10 statement - race disparity unit
- Pathway to Success 2022
- Please donate £10 or more
- Rashan Charles had no Illegal Drugs
- Serena Williams: Black women should demand equal pay
- Thank you for your donation
- The Colour of Power 2021
- The Power of Poetry
- The UK election voter registration countdown begins now
- Volunteering roles at Community Alliance Lewisham (CAL)
Theresa May: There's no business like show(ing) business
Thousands of successful women have joined the drive to kick-start growth by stepping forward to mentor other women wanting to succeed in business, the Home Secretary has announced.
Inspirational mentoring champions include Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins and Dawn Russell, who survived cancer and now runs her own foundation aimed at boosting self-worth in young women. Other high-profile ambassadors promoting mentoring include Hallett Retail founder Wendy Hallett and digital business entrepreneur Penny Power.
The mentors will provide a minimum of one hour free business mentoring a month to an owner of a micro, small, or medium-sized business over the next two years.
Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, Theresa May said:
Women are vital to Britain's economic future and the support of a mentor will help even more of them fulfil their true potential.The government is working hard to help women make the most of their talents, but we cannot act alone. I'm delighted by these mentors' commitment to helping budding businesswomen succeed - and to making Britain prosper.
If women started businesses at the same rate as men there would be an additional 150,000 start-ups a year, and if female entrepreneurship reached the same levels as the US it would contribute an extra £42 billion to the economy.
The recruitment of 5000 female mentors is one amongst a host of initiatives to provide additional support for women in business. Another important initiative aims at tackling the under-representation of women at board level and more than 50 company chairmen have joined the drive. The influential bosses announced they are backing the 30% Club campaign for diversity in the same week that the number of women on FTSE 100 boards climbed to 16.7%.
As the number of women out of work stands at a 25-year high, the importance of these initiatives and of women having the support and opportunity to fully engage in business is not only vital for the female businesswomen, but for our whole economy.
Francine Fernandes
