Female entrepreneurship failing to increase in Scotland – survey

There has been a drop in youth entrepreneurship activity in Scotland – while female entrepreneurship is failing to increase in line with the rest of the UK, a survey suggests.

However ethnic minorities in Scotland showed a stronger association with entrepreneurship, with rates double the white population in 2022.

The annual survey was carried out by researchers at the University of Strathclyde as part of a global project to monitor entrepreneurial activity.

It used the sum of the nascent entrepreneurship and the new business owner-manager rate to calculate total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) rate.

The researchers examined responses from 1,582 participants of working age (18 to 64).

The TEA rate for the 18-24 age group saw a drop of three percentage points, going from 13.3% in 2021 to 10.4% in 2022.

The ratio of female to males was 68%, behind the figure for the UK overall at 79%.

TEA in the non-white population was at 17%, double the white TEA which stood at 8.5% in 2022.

Dr Samuel Mwaura, one of the report’s co-authors, said: “Why is it so difficult to move the needle on female entrepreneurship in Scotland?

“We need around 60,000 more women engaging in early-stage enterprise in Scotland to approach gender parity, but despite much effort over the last several years, female rates just have not improved and we are out of pace with progress in female entrepreneurial activity in the rest of the UK.”

He added: “Furthermore, the female gap starts at the level of perceptions of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions among people presently not engaged in enterprise, and carries through to actual start-up activity and established business ownership rates.

“Clearly, there is something in Scotland that is not working for female entrepreneurship and we need to figure it out and fix it.

“However, it is encouraging that ethnic minority entrepreneurship in Scotland seems to have finally recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

“Ethnic minorities continue to make substantial contributions to entrepreneurship in Scotland, especially at a time when entrepreneurial rates are declining.”