EDP Future 50 - Women in Business

Last week the bible of Norfolk life, the Eastern Daily Press (EDP) published their Future 50 list of East Anglian entrepreneurs to watch over the next 12 months. Disappointingly only 2 women featured in the ones to watch and I felt compelled to write the letter below which was published in the EDP on Saturday 19th September:

Congratulations to the EDP business team on your excellent Future 50 project. Its fantastic to see the local media supporting local businesspeople in this way and sending out a positive message to readers in spite of the surrounding economic doom and gloom. I was however disappointed to see that only 2 enterprising women (Claire Martinsen and Kate Gaskin) made it into the list. This mirrors the pattern of last year’s Power 100 list in which I recall we were similarly sparsely represented. I’m sure that a balanced, high quality publication such as the EDP is not specifically discriminating but moreover that there are simply not enough women in business in Norfolk who are shouting about their success.

We have recently completed some research into female enterprise skills in association with the UEA and this identified that women still lack confidence in asserting and fulfilling their enterprising ambitions. As a result, a programme of training and support will be rolled out for women as part of Global Enterprise Week in November. Lets hope that after this many more women will be confident in their enterprising abilities and apply for the Future 50 in 2010.

Yours faithfully
Kate Elliott

The letter seems to have got everyone talking and I now have the ear of the EDP Business Editor which I hope to bend with my further thoughts! Watch this space...