What women want


Businesswomen have stronger entrepreneurial ambitions than their male counterparts; they value steady, profitable growth above making a quick profit; and they want to be recognised for business achievements more than gender expectations


These were among the key findings of a powerful new report, entitled Shattering Stereotypes – Women in Entrepreneurship, produced by Barclays in partnership with the Centre for Entrepreneurs*.


More than 500 female C-suite executives and entrepreneurs, from UK businesses with an annual turnover in excess of £2 million and spanning a variety of sectors and industries, were asked for their views on a host of topics.


These ranged from how interested they were in growing the business in the next three years; to their attitude to risk; barriers to growth and levels of support.


Responsible for commissioning the report was Jagdeep Rai, Barclays‘ head of business and corporate banking, Heathrow & Guildford. Here she explains what she wanted to achieve: “The gender agenda is a passion of mine. Having worked for the bank for the past 20 years, I have a large network of female clients and often see common themes coming up.


“When I looked into these more deeply, I realised there wasn‘t any research which really got underneath the needs and wants of established female entrepreneurs and C-suite executives. Plenty of work had been done around women in the start-up sector, but nothing that really focused on £2m turnover and above.


“The report has given us a real insight into how these women feel, the issues they come up against and how we, as a bank and the wider business community, can provide more targeted support.“


Rai, who sat in on some of the focus groups, says one of the key revelations was achieving a better understanding of how to reach out to women entrepreneurs and senior executives at different types of events.


“It‘s a real dichotomy. Women tell us they don‘t want to be seen as any different to their male peers, they want to be treated based on their business achievements, rather than gender expectations; but there are undoubtedly subtle differences in the way women behave,“ she said. “It‘s important that when we are organising events and awards we strive for a gender


balance and apply more intelligence around the people who attend.


“The needs of experienced women in established businesses are very different to those who are just starting up. Connecting these women with the right people at the right level is essential, and we will be addressing this by carefully tailoring our events and setting up conversations with people such as private-equity providers and venture capitalists.“


The survey revealed that while men showed a preference for a board of advisers and consultants, women preferred a more educational approach, involving coaching and mentoring.


As a result, Barclays has already piloted a new style of workshop, with the emphasis on topics such as impact, presence and gravitas.


Rai says the feedback was “amazing“, adding: “We focused on broader issues in terms of how to hold your own, how to build levels of confidence and improve purpose and power – all things which can help women with the next step in the business.“


Although women said they were as growth- oriented as their male counterparts, the findings showed women strive for steady, profitable growth, preferring to re-invest profits for sustainable growth, and they saw male entrepreneurs as more concerned with fast growth and a quick exit.


While there‘s no suggestion that the successful women questioned lacked business confidence, the results revealed that when asked to rate the success of their business, male entrepreneurs would say “prospering“, while female entrepreneurs were more likely to say “struggling“, even though in reality this was not the case.


The report commented: “Investors should be alert to how over- and under-confidence can skew business owners‘ perceptions of the health of their businesses. They must calibrate success potential with objective measures rather than relying on perceptions.“


Rai agrees, adding: “We need to understand that when women come to us they will underplay, as opposed to overplay, their achievements, and bear that in mind when we are assessing risk and lending propositions.“


Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No 122702). Registered in England. Registered number is 1026167 with registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. October 2015.


www.businessmag.co.uk Jagdeep Rai


With this in mind, Barclays is already looking to train individual employees who will bring new levels of emotional intelligence to working with female entrepreneurs and is also planning a series of tailored mentoring and networking groups.


Key findings


• 47% of female entrepreneurs say they are very or extremely interested in starting another business in the next three years, compared with less than 18% of male entrepreneurs


• 92% of women said they were good at identifying and mitigating risks, compared with 88% of men


• 62% of male entrepreneurs say their businesses are prospering, compared with 42% of women


• 27% of women saw the strength and reach of their networks as an obstacle, compared with 9% of men.


Details: Jagdeep Rai 07775-545251 Jagdeep.Rai2@barclays.com www.barclays.com


*Shattering Stereotypes report April 2015. Authored by the Centre for Entrepreneurs. The research design and analysis were conducted by Barclays Behavioural and Quantitative Finance.


The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third party guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – OCTOBER 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64