US is best for female entrepreneurs, with UK ranked in sixth place

The UK ranks only sixth out of 17 countries for female entrepreneurs, a new study has shown. Computer giant Dell released the results of the first Gender-GEDI female entrepreneurship index at a conference in Istanbul today.

The rankings reveal the US is the best place for ambitious female entrepreneurs, with Uganda rated worst, based on 30 indicators. Chief marketing officer and senior vice-president at Dell, Karen Quintos, said: "The research clearly supports the assertion that key things need to be fixed in order for female entrepreneurship to survive and flourish.

"Increased access to knowledge, networks, capital and technology are critical if countries are to empower female entrepreneurship and create a culture of success," she added.

The index tracks a range of different factors which determine how supportive a county is for "high potential women" – those with proven potential to succeed and a business 42 months old or younger. The study found that economic development and access to eduction is not enough to create a strong entrepreneurial environment, as cultural and societal factors also play a part. This was particularly evident in Japan, which sits in twelfth place, largely due to the low social status of entrepreneurs in the country.

Access to finance is another barrier for many women, with low-performing countries like Egypt, Uganda and India having the lowest number of women with bank accounts, at 7%, 15% and 26% respectively.

The index coincides with the launchof Dell's new competition for university students to come up with innovative ways to empower women around the world. Semi-finalists will be mentored by members of Dell's women's entrepreneur network and the winning team will receive a $15,000 (around £10,000) cash prize.

source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/women-in-leadership/small-business-blog/2013/jun/04/us-best-country-for-female-entrepreneurs

Richard Branson on Why We Need More Women in the Boardroom

I recently watched 12 Angry Men -- that classic 1957 film about a jury struggling to decide the fate of an 18-year-old man who has been charged with murder. The movie gives you a sense of how the legal system worked in the United States back then, when juries were less diverse. By today's standards, we would find it unsettling if a jury were comprised of 12 middle-aged men. So why have so many business leaders been slow to take notice when women are absent from the boards of their companies?

In most developed nations, the percentage of women in the labor force has increased dramatically since the 1950s. When 12 Angry Men was produced, less than a third of American workers were female, whereas today, the U.S. Department of Labor says that number now stands at 47 percent.

Despite this change, men are still much more likely than women to hold senior positions.

Related: Women Entrepreneurs: Still a Long Way to Go, Baby

In particular, the ratio of female board members has lagged, with less than 14 percent of these positions at the largest companies filled by women, according to the European Commission. The numbers vary greatly from country to country across Europe: In Italy, only 6 percent of board members are women; in Spain and Belgium, 11 percent; in Germany, 16 percent; in France, 22 percent. The commission has been championing a planned EU law to impose sanctions on companies in the European Union if less than 40 percent of their board members are women.

I am not usually a fan of government involvement in private industry, but on this issue it seems to be needed. Norway took the lead in 2003 when its legislature passed a law requiring that at publicly listed companies, at least 40 percent of board members should be women. They were successful at meeting the 2008 target date, and since then the proportion of women on boards at Norwegian companies has risen to an encouraging 44 percent.

Related: Richard Branson on Strategies for Success

A study the British government commissioned on this problem recommended that by 2015, 25 percent of board members at the largest British companies should be women. The Cranfield School of Management recently reported that 50 percent now have more than one woman on their boards, but British companies still have a long way to go. The situation requires more than just a recommendation -- whatever happened to leading with a persuasive argument? Simply for pragmatic reasons, business leaders need to take action.

Seventy percent of household purchasing decisions are made by women, according to the Boston Consulting Group. Those decisions are not just about grocery lists or kids' clothes -- women also choose big ticket items such as cars and vacations. So, if 50 percent of the staff at a company is female, and women drive 70 percent of the buying decisions for its products, what possible rationale can senior management have for leaving women out of the corporate decision-making process?

At Virgin, we have seen a number of women rise to senior positions over the years. At present, Virgin Money and Virgin Holidays are run by female CEOs and the person in the number two spot at Virgin Atlantic is a woman. There are many women in senior management at other Virgin companies, but we have much to do as an organization.

Related: Marissa Mayer's New Role: Wonder Woman?

If you are looking to increase the number of women in leadership positions at your company, you might start by considering what opportunities female employees have for career advancement, and what barriers they may be encountering. Ask women from every area of your company about their experiences and for their advice.

Women often encounter gender-based stereotypes about who is qualified to do what kind of job, which can sometimes persist in subtle ways and must be challenged at every level. This may be addressed by offering female employees more flexible working conditions; in some cases, putting in place better policies for both maternity and paternity leaves may be a good start.

Fixing this injustice isn't just good for your team: it's good for business. Several studies have shown that gender equity in senior management and at the board level brings many tangible benefits. A report by the Credit Suisse Research Institute revealed that those firms dominated by men had recovered more slowly since the 2008 financial downturn than those with a more balanced male-female ratio.

So take a look at who's sitting around your boardroom table. If you see 12 angry men, it's time to write a new script!

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224476

Consignment Store Franchise Grows From a Mom's Needs

Shannon Wilburn of Tulsa, Okla., is no stranger to being thrifty. "I had grown up shopping consignment," she says, "so it was just natural that when I got married, I would shop consignment for my own children."

In an effort to earn extra cash while staying home with her kids, Wilburn and friend Daven Tackett turned to consignment once more. Using clothing racks pulled from a mall dumpster and signs made from used plywood, they held their first children's and maternity consignment sale in 1997 in Wilburn's living room. Seventeen consignors sold $2,000 worth of merchandise--earning the two women a profit of $150 each.

It was supposed to be a onetime thing, but customers and consignors kept asking when the next sale would be. So Wilburn and Tackett kept at it. They held sales in a three-car garage, a gymnasium and, finally, at the local fairgrounds, selling new and "gently used" clothing, toys, baby gear and more.

As sales grew, so did requests to replicate the business, which they dubbed Just Between Friends. Once they allowed friends and family to use their name and business model, even more people expressed interest, assuming the operation was a franchise. "I didn't even know what franchising was," Wilburn admits. But after some research, in 2004 she and Tackett made the decision to go that route.

"Our goal was to sell 10 franchises a year," says Wilburn, who is now the sole owner of the system. (Tackett continues to operate Just Between Friends of Tulsa.) "In 2009, right after the economy tanked, we sold 30. People who wanted to take their future into their own hands started looking at franchising, and this is such a recession-friendly franchise. If the economy is great, we're doing well, and if the economy is bad, we're doing well."

Today there are 124 Just Between Friends franchisees in 24 states. The vast majority are owned by women, from stay-at-home moms to those wanting to leave the corporate world. And like their customers, they're bargain hunters. Just Between Friends allows them to organize their first event for less than $34,000, which covers training, insurance, equipment, supplies and marketing.

Though sales are held only two or three times a year, Just Between Friends does require an investment of time. "Like any other business, you need to work it year-round," Wilburn says. "Our franchisees that do so are way more successful."

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224789#http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224789#