Low Income Women and Self Employment in Rural England

1

• Low Income Women and Self -Employment in Rural
  England
• Anita Gambie
• Economies Policy Adviser
• The Countyside Agency

2
Rural Economies 5 key characteristics

• Five drivers of rural economies
• 4 key employing sectors account for over 4
  million rural employees
• In-migrants account for over half of all new
  businesses
• Self-employment is an important form of economic
  activity
• Households draw upon a variety of income sources
• Health of farming and tourism affects countryside
  capital

3
Rural economies 3 themes

• Three reasons for public intervention in rural
  economies
• The contribution of businesses based in the
  countryside to the national and regional GVA is
  significant and must not be put at risk.
• To tackle disadvantage and social exclusion
• Countryside Capital is an important feature and
  asset for some rural businesses and worth
  investment to sustain that advantage for the
  longer term

4
Self-employment in rural areas

• Self-employment is a significant feature of rural
  areas 11 compared with 8 in urban areas in
  2001.
• Differences between areas - In SW region 28 in
  EM only 5
• For many rural women and young people,
  self-employment is not a well paid activity but a
  means of avoiding unemployment or out migration.
  
• A third of rural self-employed had earnings of
  less than 60 of the median amount for all
  self-employed people.

5
Low income self-employed

• Low income self-employed in rural areas are
  likely to
• be women
• be over the age of retirement
• have two or more jobs and to work as
  self-employed in their second job
• work alone or just with a business partner
• have lower skills levels
• work in service industries, such as education,
  health and social services and private
  households.

6
Rural women the sources

• Few national surveys and limited statistics
  covering rural women
• 1991 RDC research (Women and employment in
  rural areas)
• 2001 CA funded study (Self-employment in rural
  England)
• 2002 CA funded study- (Role and contribution of
  women to rural economies - an update and
  extension of RDC 1991 study)
• 3 case study areas Wiltshire, Cornwall
  Yorkshire.

7
Constraints on women into work

• limited nature of opportunities
• lack of childcare
• caring responsibilities
• limited public transport
• the cost of and dependence on private transport
• low wages
• low confidence
• lack of experience

8
Rural women key characteristics

• 31 of rural self-employed are women
• 21 of self-employed are full time and
• 62 are part-time

9
Rural women drivers to self-employment

• looking for flexible employment
• Self-employment if can combine with caring
  responsibilities
• better than just low pay low skilled job

10
Rural Women - profile

• In self-employment women are more likely to
• earn low income
• return to inactivity
• have two or more jobs with self-employment being
  a part-time option

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Improvements we would like to see

• Support needs to be
• flexible
• simple to access
• coordinated
• part-time businesses deserve equal attention
• Proactive approaches

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What the Countryside Agency is doing

• Further work for the
• Promote the role and needs of women as
  entrepreneurs and employees to policy makers and
  practitioners
• A more detailed study on women in the SW region.
• An evaluation and assessment of a range of
  initiatives aimed at helping rural women into
  employment and self-employment
• Working with WiRE in Yorkshire 3 year practical
  demonstration project

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Thank you for your attention. Contact details
01242 533438 anita.gambie_at_countryside.gov.uk www.c
ountryside.gov.uk