Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds among top regions for female entrepreneurs

By Sam Pither

6 September 2022

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South and West Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds are among the top ten districts in the UK for opportunities for female entrepreneurs.

This is according to data released by money.co.uk as part of their wider diversity in business statistics report, which looked at a number of factors including the number of self-employed women in an area, along with the challenges they have to overcome.

Data collected from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) was used to give most UK regions (some were excluded due to lack of data) a score out of ten in three categories: self-employment, median pay gap and unemployment.

These three scores were then formulated to determine an overall rating for each authority.

Reaching fourth place with a final score of 8.54 was South Oxfordshire, which scored particularly highly on the median pay gap (9.65) and unemployment (9.09). For these categories the scores are inverted, so a higher score means less unemployment/pay gap.

Taking seventh place with a strong self-employment score (9.38) was West Oxfordshire, which was unfortunately held back by its median pay gap score of 5.16. The Cotswolds rounds out the top ten, again with a high self-employment score (9.54) – the third highest in the top ten – and a strong unemployment score of 9.39. It is again the median pay gap (4.14) which lets it down.

James Andrews, senior personal finance expert at money.co.uk, said: “It has been a difficult few years for entrepreneurship in the UK with the pandemic and cost of living crisis. That can be made worse for women, with challenges beyond the economy holding you back. This is most apparent in the North of England, where women face higher barriers than elsewhere in the UK.

"On the other hand, some local authorities, particularly in the South of England & Wales, appear to be a hotbed of female enterprise. So, there are examples that could be replicated elsewhere in the UK to help more women achieve success across the nation.”

By Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset.

A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise.

Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.