Women still have to learn ...

Press, 13 April 1988, Page 12

Women still have to learn ...

I 'll ! - I 1 ' ' ■ ; : 1 d i : J■ - I ' J i ... ‘Mon'ey is power, a United States researcher wfyo has t I been studying women and small businesses | iri New I Zealand told DEBORAH McPHERSON. I

New Zealand . women are making pioneering inroads into small businesss, but still pay a price for entering a “man’s world,” an 'American Fulbright schojar and researcher, Mary Welsh has found. “Women still have to learn to play the( economic game if they want clout in the business world,” she (asserts. “Money is power.” During the lasi three months, the researcher has 1 inter- ; viewed up to 80 women in | the North and South Islands. ■She estimates up : to l 2000 women throughout ‘ the country own a business. More women are starting up their own btisi-i nesses because ofjdissatisfaction at promotion op-1 portunities witliip their! present chosen I careers, I she explains. Sjie describes this as | a (‘glass ceiling” effect. , Many of the women interviewed seem) to pay a price for their independ-

ence, however. Marriages seem to suffer most. Most of the divorced women she interviewed had been married before they (started their own businesses. Those women who are still married tend, to have successful part-’ ners. :

“They usually complement I each: other, so a businesswoman might have a lawyer or accountant for ia husband.”

Men often have a hard time dealing with successful women) she says. “I think J men are very confused about their roles in society, now that women are) no longer filling the roles traditionally assigned to) them.” : ) Many of women are either single parents or have: no children. Those without children seem to treat; their “business as their) baby,|” she says.

North Island women differ greatly from their South Island "sisters” in the isorts [ of businesses they I set up, finds Mary Welsh. : In Christchurch, women

tend to be older, aged between 33 and 50, and their businesses are usually geared towards the service sectors and traditional women-orientated jobs such as catering, fabrics, 1 bridal boutiques, fashion, modelling and home entertaining.

Women in the North Island seem to be pioneering a wider variety of businesses in nontraditional areas, such as market research, printing, real estate, interior design, engineering, wholesale travel, broking, and public relations. They are often younger, aged between their late 20s and early 30s. Most women, she spoke to had no formal univer-; sity training: a reflection of the “do-it-yourself”, philosophy that is adhered Ho nationally, she believes.

Auckland women also have a well established network of information available for prospective businesswomen. (Mary Welsh also talked to bankers and accountants, who told her that, in

general, women coming for big loans were generally better prepared than men asking for: similar amounts.: i Even so, banks tend to enforce the criteria) for lending money more Strongly with j women. They look closely to see Whether they have done their market research, have assets, and are committed to their plans, which is probably fair 1 enough, she says.

) Women have often been perceived as a risk to bankers because of assumptions about their child caring roles, and consequently their ability to keep the workforce stable. i She believes women should be better prepared for the business environment at school, where (they should be encouraged to take accounting and maths earlier, pirls also need to be (shown positive examples (of successful women as well as men, so they can see it) is possible to enter inon-traditional jobs.

Mary Welsh’s research on women in small businesses was prompted by her interest in the phenomenon in i the United States, where about three million (women have chosen independent business as their livelihood? 5

Small businesses are a “big commodity” because it creates employment,

In New Zealand, more than 54 per cent of the people that are I employable are in small business. "These businesses are important to the economy but are often overlooked, and not even given any verbal encouragement or incentives by the Government,” she says. In spite of her youth, Mary Welsh has had experience) working on small business legislation in the United States Senate. She has also worked in publishing with the Pennsylvania Commerce Department. )

In New Zealand her research has been supported by the Institute of Economic Research and the Education Foundation.