IWD: FEMALE FOUNDERS TELL US WHAT "EMBRACE EQUITY" MEANS TO THEM
Shalini Khemka, CBE, Founder of E2E
Shalini Khemka
#EmbraceEquality to me is a chance to further highlight inequality to the lack of access to funding female founders face, globally. With less than 2% of women receiving funding, this significantly reduces the number of start-ups established by women.
It is vital that this figure is addressed, not just by men but also by women who can further help fellow female entrepreneurs have better access to funding but also training, mentorship and support on how to access funding in the first place and open themselves up to offering to fund other women.
If women started & scaled a business at the same rate as men, a further £250 billion of value could be added to the UK economy. This is a huge figure and one which no doubt would improve our global rankings for start-ups and entrepreneurs.
We need to address this balance first in education, giving women and girls better access to financial training and support starting from school, into college and of course at university to ensure that every woman knows how to access funding, what hoops they need to jump through and who are the major players available to them. If we can increase this knowledge bank, we stand some chance in empowering and encouraging women to ask for funding, to have better access to it and to go on to be able to offer it to other women later in their careers.
We then need to work on educating men that female-led businesses are a sound investment and should be their top priority for 2023 and beyond. We need to change the narrative, ensure and demand inclusion and ensure equality is truly embraced.
E2E is an exciting and ground-breaking powerhouse of entrepreneurs, investors, non-execs, and SME focussed corporate organisations.
Natalie Trice, Founder of PR School
Natalie Trice
With the aim of the IWD 2023 campaign being to #EmbraceEquity now is the time that we stop paying lip service to equality and rather ensure that this is the case and not just box at that is ticked a part of a ESG programme or HR task. We are moving from focussing on the gender equality equation and making this year about equality for all and this includes calling out bad behaviour, outdated policies and ensuring that the voices of all are heard.
Equity is about creating a totally inclusive world and we have got a long way to go to make this a reality, but we have to start somewhere, so let’s start today. Difference isn’t something to rally against or exclude, it what makes us so rich and vibranrt, it’s the glue that should be sticking us together and not pulling us apart and it’s the way forward if we are going to create business, networks and communities that come together to celebrate each other rather than putting up barriers that prevent harmony and inclusivity. Think about how you can put equity at the heart of all you do and remember, this isn’t just for one day of the year, it’s forever.
PR School is at the heart of training businesses of all sizes to do their own PR and giving them the confidence they need to be visible on a global scale.
