Recent efforts to establish a networking event for women entrepreneurs in the science and technology sectors have highlighted the scarcity of women business leaders in high-tech Oxfordshire.

Compared to their male counterparts, senior women business leaders are a rare commodity in the science and technology industry.

It is not just Oxfordshire, nor the science and technology sectors where there are lower numbers of women entrepreneurs. Figures for the South East show some startling results.

The South East England Development Agency’s (SEEDA) Women’s Enterprise Ambassadors Network reports that, although women make up 46 per cent of the economically-active population in the region, they are under-represented among business owners and entrepreneurs.

Only about 15 per cent of all businesses in the South East are majority-owned by women and only 27 per cent of all self-employed people across all business sectors are women.

Compared to the US, the UK has the same number of male-owned businesses per capita, but only half the number of female-owned businesses. This is a glaring gap in the innovation market and one which, if we are to grow the economy, needs to be rectified.

Why are there fewer female-driven businesses here in the UK, and how can we encourage more of our skilled women’s workforce to pursue entrepreneurship in the high-tech fields?

With a roughly equal split in the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates in the country as a whole, there is definitely the skills base on which to draw.

However, only a quarter of female STEM undergraduates follow careers in industry, meaning that almost 500,000 qualified women are not working in the high-tech sectors. This equates to a massive loss of STEM-related skills and knowledge that forms the pool of potential entrepreneurs and innovators.

A 2009 UK Resource Centre for Women report showed that in 2007 only 9.7 per cent of the STEM self-employed were women.

Although this represents a slight increase from the 8.4 per cent in 2002, it highlights the exceptionally low levels when compared to men. Women entrepreneurs, and particularly those in the science and technology sectors, are vitally important to our local and regional economy.

Oxfordshire has a knowledge-based economy that is driven by a highly-skilled workforce, innovative thinkers, world leading universities, and a highly-developed entrepreneurial support system.

The systems, skills and support are all there — now what is needed is the ability to tap into an under-used source of business creativity.

The Government has recently stressed that it will maintain its commitment to science funding until 2014, to help safeguard the knowledge economy against short-term pressures.

Other than the social implications for boosting the levels of women in senior managerial and entrepreneurial positions, there is also a huge economic benefit.

Research has established that diverse groups of people tend to outperform homogenous groups, if both groups have similar abilities.

Some research even shows that under the right conditions, a group of intelligent problem solvers chosen at random are likely to outperform a homogenous group of even the best problem solvers. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts!

A recent Ernst & Young report on using the strength of women to rebuild the world economy highlights this fact.

Scott Page, a professor of complex systems at the University of Michigan, said: “It’s not about morality, or fairness, or doing the right thing; it’s not even about hiring smart people. Instead, it’s about honing a competitive weapon. Diversity is a strategy.”

The diversity approach was applied to individual businesses, but what is stopping this from being applied to the wider economy?

Having more women entrepreneurs and business leaders in Oxfordshire, essentially giving diversity to our economy, should similarly increase the performance and innovation of the county.

So what are the issues that are keeping more women from becoming STEM entrepreneurs? How can we provide support systems that tackle these issues?

There is no magic solution but there are some initiatives which are starting to address the low numbers of women entrepreneurs in the .

Oxford Entrepreneurs run Oxford Women in Business (OxWIB) aimed at empowering women to expand their understanding of business and entrepreneurship.

Science Oxford Networks is launching an initiative supporting women and providing this through a women-focus approach.

The initiative launches on May 6 with an event that gives participants the opportunity to explore and share the diversity and difficulties faced by women in the high-tech industries.

It moves away from the technical aspects of business and focuses on the importance of sharing experiences.

o For more information about Science Oxford Networks 4 Women contact 4women@scienceoxford.com o This page is compiled by Science Oxford Networks, visit the website: www.scienceoxfordnetworks.com