Moray supports Scotland’s highest proportion of women business owners

MORE women run their own business in Edinburgh than any other mainland Scottish local authority area, according to analysis.

However, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says Moray has a higher share of women who work for themselves than anywhere else in Scotland. It added the government figures show there are 9,700 women in Edinburgh who work for themselves, ahead of Glasgow with 7,400 selfemployed women.

It also found 10.5 per cent of working age women in Moray are self-employed, a larger share than any other mainland council.

Some other rural and semi-rural council areas also have high levels of female entrepreneurship, the FSB said.

In Dumfries and Galloway, it is 10.4%, in Aberdeenshire 8.6%, Argyll and Bute 8.3% and Angus 8.1%.

The FSB compiled the research ahead of an address by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to a gathering of Scottish small business owners in Glasgow next month. Ms Sturgeon said: “These figures illustrate that self-employed women are making a huge contribution to local economies and communities across the country.”

The figures are drawn from the Office from National Statistics annual population survey and Women’s Enterprise Scotland

The statistics show that there are 94,900 selfemployed women in Scotland, 5.4%.

Scottish men are more likely to be their own employer than their female counterparts with 183,300 Scottish men self-employed, equivalent to 11%.

Research by Women’s Enterprise Scotland shows that women-led businesses contribute more than £5 billion towards the Scottish economy. If the number of women-led businesses matched those led by men, this figure would increase to £13bn.

Pearl Hamilton, who is a Moray-based retailer and member of FSB Scotland policy unit, said: “For every woman in business for herself in Scotland, there are two men.

“That’s not good enough in 2018.”