A report being launched ahead of International Women’s Day outlines measures that could be taken the maximise the potential of female entrepreneurs in the Liverpool city region. Tony McDonough reports

A new report outlines how female entrepreneurs could boost the Liverpool city region economy by £230m a year with a rethink of its industrial strategy.

One Day, being launched on Friday at The Women’s Organisation in Liverpool ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, outlines measures that could be taken to maximise the potential of women with ambitions to run their own businesses.

It was compiled by 20 women from different sectors, geographies and communities who donated one day of their time to start to rethink the Liverpool city region’s industrial strategy from a woman’s perspective.

A study by Deloitte projected that targeted help for female founders could see a £100bn boost to the UK economy over the next 10 years – translating to £230m every year in the Liverpool city region.

Initiatives such as Enterprise Hub, led by The Women’s Organisation, have made significant inroads into encouraging female entrepreneurship. The One Day report says the city region now has a “unique opportunity” to harness gender equality as an economic driver.

The report is being officially launched at The Women’s Organisation, just outside the city centre, by Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. And Dr Paula Burkinshaw, visiting senior research fellow into gender and leadership at The University of Leeds, will deliver a keynote speech at the event.

One Day comprises 26 recommendations centring on the beliefs that:

• Harnessing gender and diversity is essential to fulfilling our economic potential as a region.
• The care and hospitality sectors are recognised as valuable industries which will add significantly to the region’s economic productivity.
• We are now recognising creativity as a competency that will support growth across the economy.
• The Social Economy is an accelerator of local economies found to be more competitive than traditional firms.
• Community owned and controlled action on all issues – on local and global scale – will reap better results and ROI. 
• The metrics for measuring the outcomes and successes of the LCR Combined Authority industrial strategy need to be updated to include wellbeing, the value of health, the value of care and our aim to be self-sufficient.

Women from the public, private and third sectors contributed to the report, with representatives from industries spanning across construction to social care, utilities to universities, and from fashion to finance coming together on the day.

Maggie O’Carroll, chief executive of The Women’s Organisation, which hosted and contributed to the report, said: “There is immense opportunity here to grow the Liverpool city region’s economy through ensuring that women are included in all parts of economic life.

“Women’s inclusion in business start-up and in social enterprise growth and development is a definite way of achieving the ambition of inclusive growth. It is so important that this is recognised and harnessed as a key economic driver.”