Ms Entrepreneur illuminates women in business

Aspiring and established business women will benefit from the creation of an innovative multimedia resource launched today.

The Rudd Government is supporting the Ms Entrepreneur initiative that showcases women in business through an annual magazine, television series, radio and podcast segments and website.

Almost one third of small businesses are operated by women. Of these, 11 per cent exported in the past year and 70 per cent expect higher export values in the year ahead.

The Ms Entrepreneur project is about encouraging women to realise their business dreams and to help shape female entrepreneurship in Australia.

Media content will feature case studies of women in business and relevant issues – from small enterprises to large corporations and even those thinking about making the leap to becoming their own boss.

Combining work and personal commitments present all sorts of challenges to women in the 21st century. Ms Entrepreneur aims to inspire and provide tools to succeed such as what it takes to be a leader, how to grow your business and managing work-life balance.

It is important that high-achieving women are recognised and the Ms Entrepreneur venture will present role models who can help stimulate a new generation of female business leaders.

With our ageing population it is vital that we overcome barriers, such as pay equity, and improve economic security and independence for women.

The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency helps more than 7,000 businesses each year with a range of issues. These include pay equity, improving female employee access to training and development and reducing the occurrence of sex-based harassment and gender stereotypes in their workplaces.

We intend to improve lives for working families through measures like better quality and more affordable child care, more family friendly workplaces and establishment of the Office for Work and Family.