Less well-documented is the discrimination women entrepreneurs encounter when it comes to establishing themselves in business... this situation is literally intolerable

Will Hutton, Industrial Society

The report - "Unequal entrepreneurs: why female enterprise is an uphill struggle" - blames the government for failing to support self-employed women.

It recommends increased government support for UK businesswomen, such as a National Centre for Women's Enterprise, and an Office for Women's Business Ownership under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry.

The report also calls for a "women's business charter", which would encourage better treatment for women from law firms, banks and financial advisers.

Unequal labour

Women business-owners tend to be younger than male entrepreneurs - 43% are under 44 compared with 30% of men.

Report's recommendations

National Centre for Women's Enterprise National Policy on Women's Enterprise Better business support Women's Business Charter Office for Women's Business Ownership Improved access to finance

But they have less access to start-up capital, less management experience and are less welcome in the informal business networks that are vital support to small firms, according to the report.

The Industrial Society believes that this is a major disincentive to women who want to set-up on their own - only 26% of the UK's self-employed are women - and the number has hardly increased since 1990.

This is despite a greater number of working women, and the expansion of traditionally "feminised" service sectors.

Inferior position

Dr Eleanor Shaw of Strathclyde University said: "Most women hold low-paid, unskilled or semi-skilled positions, women earn on average 72% of male earnings and only 10% of the UK's 200 largest companies have female board members.

Women's experience of the labour market are a major constraint on their ability to set up their own business."

In contrast to the situation in the UK, business women in America have made a greater impact in recent years.

The proportion of women entrepreneurs has increased from just 5% in 1970 to 38% of all small business in 1999.

American businesswomen now account for $2.3 trillion in sales and employ 23.8 million employees.

Predictions suggest that by 2005 there will be 4.7 milion self-employed women in the US - an increase of 77% since 1983, compared with a 6% increase in self-employed men.

American women have also broken into non-traditional sectors, such as construction, wholesaling and transportation.

For example, between 1987 and 1992, the number of women-owned business operating in construction grew by 94%.

Will Hutton, chief executive of the Industrial Society said: "In the British labour market, women are still second class citizens... Less well documented is the discrimination women entrepreneurs encounter when it comes to establishing themselves in business."