Businesswomen in Lancashire call for more help

Delegates to a Listening Out Loud seminar in Preston described it as “inspirational” and “brilliant” – and stressed the need for more events of the same kind to be staged.

The seminar - hosted by the Business Growth Service in association with the Federation of Small Businesses and Natwest - aimed to give Lancashire female business owners the chance to step out of their daily management role and put their business growth on the agenda.

Organisers said it proved a big draw, with well attended workshops – and delegates going back with information on resources as well as skills they could implement straightaway.

About 80 business women attended the seminar, which was broken into presentations and workshops, delivered by inspirational and experienced leaders.

The event was widely praised, with one delegate describing it as “probably the best women’s only networking type day I have been to,” while others called it as a “great event” and a “useful resource.”

Delegates gave the clear message that they wanted further similar events to ensure that more help was made available to entrepreneurs.

Participants heard a keynote speech from Wendy Bowers of Role, who talked about the milestones for business women over the past century, and the need to reduce the gender pay gap. She also said that whilst there was an increase in women in senior management, there was still room for improvement.

Jemma Taylor, business development manager at Business Growth Service, said: “We were delighted with the response to this event, and tickets were sold out in just three weeks. Feedback from the delegates was universally positive, with particular praise for the variety of networking opportunities on offer. We’ve already started planning the next event, and hope to reach even more women in business. “It’s clear from the responses we received that there is a real need out there for more events of this kind.”