Alison Rose NatWest chief executive is the first woman to run a major bank in the UK, claims it’s “utter nonsense” that women can’t have children and a career. NatWest is a major retail bank in the United Kingdom.
The Telegraph, in collaboration with 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch List, will be featuring the prominent women entrepreneurs. And Alison Rose claims that this could potentially motivate other women to start their own businesses and remove the barriers that are hindering them.
Alison Rose claims that the total loss of the lack of support for women-led businesses has accounted for £250 billion. She says this figure is approximately four years of growth in GVA (Gross Value Added). This is on top of the United Kingdom’s current GVA, which is more or less £1,900 billion annually.
Rose says that women who hesitate in setting up their businesses are often due to misconceptions about their abilities. For instance, many people perceive this as a lack of ambition. Some also think that women are more risk-averse than men. Plus, society has considered women not as good networkers as men.
But Alison Rose defies all this by being the first woman to run a major bank in the United Kingdom. She said that women don’t lack ambition or ability, which is evidenced through the Rose Review.
According to experts, only one in three female entrepreneurs is evident in the UK. The size of female-led businesses in the UK is only 44 percent compared to that of male-led companies in terms of contributions to the economy. Moreover, male-led SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are five times more likely to increase to about £1 million turnovers than female-led SMEs.
The horrifying discrimination of female entrepreneurs
The United Kingdom government has commissioned Alison Rose, then Natwest deputy CEO, to lead the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship, published in 2019. Rose claims that she has heard the horrifying stories of women when pitching for funding.
Most investors would ask these women innovators if their husbands are running the business for them. Some would even ask to have the receptionist in the room so another woman would be present. And another worse scrutiny is having asked if they have the ambition to deliver this undertaking. This shows that men question women’s abilities to run a business.
A senior executive of TikTok had stepped back from his role after making derogatory remarks about why firms are offering maternity leave. He said that he didn’t believe in companies providing maternity leave benefits.
In response, Rose said that this type of remark is extremely worrying. If senior-level supervisors can quickly make this kind of comment, then the kind of mentorship and role modelling we have these days would be questionable.
Family and career can be inclusive
Alison Rose is a quintessential woman who shows that family and career can be inclusive.
“That idea that if you want a successful career you can’t have children is utter nonsense. I’ve got two children and my career is not going so badly,” she said.
The 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch List will highlight some of the most highly revered women in business in the UK. The top 10 women entrepreneurs will receive mentoring support from Rose Review Board. On top of that, the leading businesswoman will receive a £10,000-investement in their business.
