Having grown up in what appears to be a man's world, 2019 was most definitely the year of girl power. What with the return of the Spice Girls, Rihanna redefining beauty, Theresa May taking her turn in Downing Street and young women like Greta Thunberg making a stand for our environment; I think today women are the ones making the social and cultural changes our generations will be remembered for.
In the recent Elle Magazine it became apparent to me that every article, every story, every advert and every feature was all centered around strong women achieving things that might be perceived as unexpected for females. Celebrating women's successes is a great thing, but if it's being done because no one expected a woman to be the one to do it, then is it really celebrating success or just recognising women are just as capable as men?
In business the UK have seemed to be considered behind on balancing the gender gap.
In 2017, only 5.6% of UK women run their own businesses, compared to 15% of women in Canada, almost 11% of women in the US, and over 9% of women in Australia and the Netherlands. (Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, HM Treasury 2019)
Only 39% of women are confident in their capabilities to start a business compared to 55% of men. This is a perceived gap in ability, rather than an actual gap in skill sets. (Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, HM Treasury 2019)
I personally find these stats pretty shocking and cannot comprehend why women are so prone to a negative mind set towards their abilities. In today's world women are thriving and there's evidence everywhere of how we have used our unique skill set resulting in some outstanding achievements globally.
St.
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