King's College London

Ute Stephan, Professor of Entrepreneurship at King’s Business School gave oral evidence to the UK Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee this week as part of her contribution to its inquiry on women’s entrepreneurship.

Her written and oral evidence identifies deep-rooted systemic barriers facing women establishing their own businesses, including the persistence of the “think entrepreneur, think male” stereotype, the unequal distribution of caring responsibilities, and the fact that women in the UK do not experience the same psychological benefits from running a business as men.

Drawing on extensive international research, Professor Stephan called for policy measures that go beyond targeted interventions to promote gender-inclusive entrepreneurship more broadly. These include improving access to childcare and elder care, expanding support for social enterprises, which are more likely to be led by women and addressing mental health challenges by “humanising” entrepreneurship.

Professor Stephan is Theme Lead for Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Investment at the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, which is based at the business school. Her recommendations form part of GIWL’s ongoing mission to ensure women have fair and equal access to economic opportunity and leadership.