26/03/2009 - Mothers 'driven on' by recession
In a bid to fight the recession, increasing numbers of mothers have been spurred on to set up their own business, according to a study.
Three in five women with children have reacted to changing conditions in their partners' employment by working on their careers, research by campaign group Women Like Us found.
Of the 1,100 people surveyed, one in five mothers who were not earning said they now needed to work because their partners' job had changed or become less secure.
Emma Stewart, director of Women Like Us, believes rather than hampering women, the recession has been "driving them forward".
Economic competitiveness minister, Shriti Vadera, said: "There are 20% more people in enterprise in the US than in Britain, and the majority of that gap is made up of women. Getting more women entrepreneurs is an economic issue not just an equality issue. If we were to match US levels of women's enterprise there would be 900,000 new businesses in the UK.
"There is a wealth of untapped talent and economic opportunity that could significantly boost the economy in these uncertain times."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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