Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-12-Speech-1-198-000"
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"en.20110912.27.1-198-000"2
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"Madam President, as governments face economic turmoil it is vital we harness existing resources to the maximum, and one of the best resources we possess are companies and businesses which can help create the wealth that is needed in a successful and vibrant economy. However, when we look at small and medium-sized enterprises today, we find they are still mainly run by men, which means that much of the population fails to reach its potential.
This report recognises the value of women entrepreneurs in SMEs and acknowledges that women face many different problems in different Member States in attaining their objectives. The report also recognises the contribution women in employment can make both to the local community and to the economy of the EU, and points out clearly that women have the right to choose the role they play within the home or the community they live in. Many women have to juggle their own aspirations to succeed alongside their commitment to their family. The aim of the report is to make this choice a reality through practical guidelines and best practice recommendations which Member States could adopt if they so wish.
EU Member States differ in their approach to women looking to run their own businesses and in the support they give these women. Whilst researching my report, I found that the difficulties women faced in setting up SMEs within Member States were more or less the same. Often they were unaware of the mechanics needed to start a business, they lacked the confidence or were unsure where to seek advice, and found financial institutions unsympathetic to their specific needs.
To address these difficulties I proposed a few amendments such as: firstly, to make better use of funding opportunities that are available to female entrepreneurs which allow fair and equal access to finance; secondly, we need to embrace national education concepts for young entrepreneurship in schools, for example, or to encourage female one-year entrepreneurship or apprenticeship programmes in universities; thirdly, we could recognise the importance of female ambassadors as they help promote competitiveness by inspiring women and young girls to set up their own businesses.
I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their contribution to drafting the report, which I felt strengthened it.
We are going to be holding separate votes on paragraphs 34, 44 and 46, which relate to Romani women, migrant women and balanced representation on boards. All these topics are very important in their own right, but they are not really relevant in a report that specialises in women and SMEs, so for this reason I am not going to be supporting these separate votes.
As a woman who has been running my own company for 25 years, I know first hand the problems women can encounter when trying to establish a viable SME. I hope that this report will be adopted by the European Parliament, and that ultimately Member States will be able to use it as a basis for supporting women who wish to move forward in this field, for in spite of all the constraints and restrictions upon them, women have proved to be more than capable in the workplace when starting a business.
Recognising women’s ability in the workplace, and assisting them through media such as an EU report to strengthen their position, is vital. This will not only encourage women to move into the world of business, but will ensure when they move into it there is an even playing field and there is no room for gender discrimination."@en1
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