7.5 million women dream of leaving their jobs to start a business

An estimated 7,504,000 employed women in the UK – 56% of the female working population – aspire to leave their jobs and go into self-employment or starting a business.

Research conducted on behalf of the Start Up Loans Company found that, of the employed women looking to start up, the majority were keen to start businesses in the creative, arts, and entertainment industries, followed by food and retail.

When it came to the prospects of ‘going it alone’, 40% of the survey respondents said they had been considering going self-employed for the last few years while 25% said disappointment with their current job role was a major trigger in making them consider self-employment.

A surprising number of female employees, 16%, said they had dreamed of starting a business ever since childhood.

Start Up Loans CEO, Tim Sawyer, said the research indicated how “the gender divide in business is quickly narrowing”:

“This growing surge in ambition among the country’s female population is brilliant for UK trade, […] but sadly, the majority of women are still unconfident about making the break.

“We need to take more action to change these attitudes and demonstrate to more women that they can realise their business dreams.”