4. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on the future role of women in driving entrepreneurial activity and economic growth, in light of the publication of the report, “Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship

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. (S6F-01832)

On Monday, I had the pleasure of visiting the Roslin innovation centre, where I was able to welcome Ana Stewart and Mark Logan’s outstanding report. The report sets out a range of detailed and ambitious recommendations that consider how to close the gender gap for women in enterprise across Government, the education system, enterprise support networks and wider society.

First and foremost, it is an issue of fairness—women face clear barriers in realising their business ambitions, including in getting access to start-up and growth finance—but it is also important for our economy. If women started businesses at anything like the rate at which men do, it would deliver a significant boost to our economy.

The report is an important piece of work and I look forward to seeing its recommendations implemented.

I thank the First Minister for the strong leadership that she has shown to women throughout her tenure.

The report is an important milestone for women in business. It notes that

“only 2% of institutional investment” goes to women-led companies in Scotland. Does the First Minister agree that we must increase the support for women entrepreneurs, as tapping into that latent pool of talent is not only the right thing to do but has the potential to significantly boost Scotland’s economic activity and growth?

The First Minister:

I completely agree and thank Fiona Hyslop for that question. Supporting women into enterprise and closing the gender gap is, as I said in my initial answer, more than an issue of fairness, important though that is; it is one of economic necessity.

Women are slightly more than half the population, but only around one in five businesses in Scotland are led by women—we need to change that. The recommendations in the report, which span a whole range of factors, from some of the cultural barriers that women face, to systemic barriers, to things such as access to finance, will all be important in helping us do so. From a different place to the one that I am standing in now, I look forward to continuing to support the full implementation of the recommendations in Parliament.

Again, I thank Ana Stewart and Mark Logan for all the work that they have done to produce the report.