Women make great entreprenuers, concluded the panel of eminent speakers from the banking industry, private equity, and successful women entrepreuers alike at the Women’s Forum 2008 in Deauville, France. Women are cautious and careful in their spending, they take calculated risks, they always pay their debt on time and most importantly, budding business women have brilliant ideas !!. Yet statistics is still not in favor of women when we start looking at number of successful new business ventures led by women. Why is it so? Why is access to finance limited for women? entrepreneurs. Why do women lack business networks and good business advice?

The reasons were very well brought out at the forum and to me it also reflects women’s under-representation in almost every profession. Nell Merlino, Co-founder and CEO of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, USA, commented that unfortunately women tend to potray their weaknesses while men tend to boast their strengths. Most often, women need training on raising their level of confidence to that of their skills.  Fundamentally, women lack confidence and tend to underplay themselves.

Clearly, this is a structural behavioural difference in men and women and stems from our cultures, values and attitudes in society developed over hundreds of years. But this trend is now changing and I think the success of Women’s Forum 2008 symbolizes that change……