Barriers faced by older women in business

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Barriers faced by older women in business

Isabella Moore: Industry must do more to support women in business

Women in ‘later life’ face greater disadvantages than their male counterparts when it comes to setting up their own business, new research has revealed.

A study carried out at Aston University by businesswoman Dr Isabella Moore, found that older women had greater responsibilities as carers and looking after grandchildren, and demanded that further work should be done by industry to help women launch businesses.

Dr Moore, who completed a doctorate in Business Administration at Aston and became and entrepreneur at 60, discussed her own experiences in the first episode of the fourth series of ‘Aston means business’, presented by Steve Dyson.

‘Many business support organisations don’t take women in later life who might be thinking to set up in business seriously’

She chairs the board of Comtec Translations, a specialist languages company she founded in the 1980s before selling it in 2002 and then buying it back “for a lot less than I sold it”.

She said: “What struck me was that I remembered issues I had when I started in business in my 30s and I realised there were now some very different issues I had to contend with.”

Those issues included being a grandmother, with some responsibility to support her daughter with the grandchildren, and having a mother who was now over 100.

“But above all at that age what I found was a drop in confidence in myself and the feeling that somehow society saw me as somebody that has done something, achieved something, but it’s time to retire. That was an identity that I had to struggle with.”

Dr Moore developed an interest in women's entrepreneurship in her earlier career which saw her in a variety of roles, including the first female president of the British Chamber of Commerce. Dr Moore, who dislikes the term ‘older’ or ‘senior entrepreneur’, began her study by interviewing an equal number of men and women and looked at the research from three perspectives, starting with ‘societal attitudes’ against setting up in business in later life. She discovered that society did not see people who retire as potential entrepreneurs, despite having skills and experience.

Dr Moore said: “The perception is they ought to be thinking about playing golf and looking after grandchildren. But they agreed that many business support organisations don’t take women in later life who might be thinking to set up in business seriously. They felt society assigned to them certain roles that it's very difficult to get out of. As a result, society regards women in later life as not potential material for entrepreneurs.

“I also think the media need to portray women in later life in a different way, and Government policy needs to be refined around welfare, around pension, and make it easy for them to set up in business rather than put up hurdles.”

Support on offer for Black law students

A new scheme designed to support better access to the legal profession for Black students has been set up by the University of Birmingham and Gowling WLG (UK).

The Black Talent in Law Bursary scheme will see Gowling WLG (UK) Charitable Trust - a registered charity funded entirely by donations from partners of Gowling WLG - support the studies and future careers of Black students at Birmingham Law School (BLS).

Students on the scheme will be provided with work placement opportunities at Gowling WLG, ongoing mentoring support from lawyers at the firm, and also paid financial contributions in their second and final year of their studies at BLS. Three students will be the first to enrol on the scheme in September.

Support: University of Birmingham and Gowling WLG (UK) are working together to provide better access for Black students

Paul McConnell, head of Careers and Employability at Birmingham Law School, said: “Birmingham Law School is strongly committed to supporting the future careers of our students, and also enhancing diversity within the legal profession. We are delighted to be partnering with Gowling WLG (UK) Charitable Trust. The bursary will make a real difference for our students, providing both invaluable career development opportunities and also financial support for their studies.”

‘Black lawyers are under-represented in corporate law firms and we are committed to doing our part to address this’

Andy Stylianou, chair of Gowling WLG (UK) LLP and the firm's lead on diversity and inclusion, said: “The scheme will offer the students a fantastic opportunity to gain invaluable experience working within a busy international law firm while completing their studies and to be financially supported along the way.

“Black lawyers are underrepresented in corporate law firms and we are committed to doing our part to address this and to promote the progression of black students.

“We look forward to working closely with Birmingham Law School to offer a rounded experience for all the students taking part in the scheme and welcoming the future lawyers joining us to develop their experience of a career in law.”

£370m HS2 station seeks bids

Construction contractors are being urged to bid for the £370m Interchange Station contract, being built as part of the new high-speed railway, HS2.

Bidders are asked to put themselves forward for the station contract by HS2, which the firm says could support up to 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction, as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs.

Interchange Station, in Solihull, will be one of the best connected stations on the new high speed network in the Midlands, and is set to pave the way for huge growth plans around the site being led by the Urban Growth Company, that will include 30,000 jobs, up to 3,000 new homes and 70,000m2 of commercial space.

These will form part of the UK Central Hub’s plans for 70,000 jobs, 5,000 new homes and 650,000m2 of commercial space, generating £6.2bn GVA per year and bringing 1.3m people to within a 45-minute public transport commute of the station.

The station is the first railway station globally to achieve the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certification at the design stage – a measure of sustainability for new and refurbished buildings – putting it in the top one per cent of buildings in the UK for eco-friendly credentials.

HS2’s stations director Matthew Botelle said: “The start of the search for our construction contractor is a significant step in the journey to build HS2’s Interchange Station in the Midlands. We’ve worked closely with our multi-disciplinary design team Arup to design the station to be net zero in operation, which is a key part of our strategy to reduce carbon and build the most sustainable railway in the world.

“The wider regeneration around Interchange Station is an even bigger prize, with thousands of jobs, new homes and commercial development set to transform the economic potential for people and businesses in the region.”

Place your bids: An artist’s impression of what Interchange Station will look like once complete Reduce, reuse, recycle: Darren Andrew with donated items

Airport donates surplus stock

Birmingham Airport marked World Environment Day by donating 2.7 tonnes of surplus stock to local charities.

The airport’s on-site shops and restaurants donated goods and foodstuffs to local charities who were able to repurpose the products, worth an estimated £16,000 at retail prices. Items including sweets, snacks, soft drinks, bottled water, gift sets, t-shirts, books, stationery, games, toys and travel accessories were kindly donated to support three local charities Unite4homeless, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Home Start.

Senior corporate sustainability manager Darren Andrew said: “It’s great to be able to deliver a project that positively impacts the local community.”