One in four females in the UK are ready to embrace entrepreneurship, according to new research.
A new survey, conducted by World Options, found that a quarter of women want to work for themselves within the next ten years, and a further quarter said they would consider it.
The most popular age at which women are ready to go it alone is between 26 and 40 years old, with 57 per cent of people who are considering self-employment in the next decade falling into this category.
The survey found that one of the main things holding women back was a lack of confidence, with 43 per cent of those surveyed saying they do not yet feel confident enough to work for themselves. However, nearly half said that financial responsibilities were the reason they had not yet made the leap.
When asked about the biggest benefit of working for yourself, 32 per cent of women surveyed said setting their own hours, 27 per cent would appreciate being their own boss, and 19 per cent were attracted by the work/life balance of going it alone.
Men and women largely agreed on the reasons why entrepreneurship appealed, but there was a slight difference between the sexes when it came to perks such as income. Some 11 per cent of men were drawn by a potentially bigger income, while just five per cent of women agreed this was the main benefit of self-employment.
Stewart Butler, sales director at World Options said, “2018 represents a milestone year of women, as we mark 100 years since the Representation of the People Act that gave some women the chance to vote for the very first time.”
“It is a fantastic opportunity to reflect on how we can encourage more women to embrace their careers and do the job they always dreamed of.”
“As we can see from these survey results, many people have the ambition to become an entrepreneur but they are being held back for a variety of reasons.”
“It would be wonderful if 2018 is the year that people were able to realise their full potential and launch lucrative careers that they actually enjoy.”
