4th November 2008

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More Irish women must be encouraged to become entrepreneurs if the economy here is to thrive – this is the message from a leading US expert speaking in Belfast today. 

International guru on female entrepreneurship, Professor Candy Brush, from the Boston-based Babson College, was speaking at a conference organised to promote women’s entrepreneurship around the world.  

Professor Brush is internationally-renowned for her pioneering research in women's entrepreneurship and she conducted the first and largest study of women entrepreneurs in the early 1980's, resulting in one of the earliest books on the topic.

She is addressing the Diana International Research Symposium, hosted by the Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) at the University of Ulster, in partnership with Babson College, Boston – ranked by the Financial Times as the world’s number one college for entrepreneurship education.  

This is the first time that the annual conference – which brings together leading female entrepreneurs and business experts from across the globe – has ever been held outside the United States.

"The number of women engaging in entrepreneurial new venturing is increasing on the island of Ireland. However the gap between men and women engaging in entrepreneurial activity remains stubbornly wide, despite the fact that more women are attending higher education than ever before, particularly within the area of science, engineering and technology,” says Professor Brush. 

"While women continue to be under-represented in enterprise development, the economy on this island loses significant benefits. The current economic climate is admittedly a difficult one that is likely to challenge even the most determined entrepreneur, but this is also a time of great opportunity and with support from organisations like NICENT, women should be persuaded to engage in entrepreneurial activity now more than ever.”

Professor Brush is also a founder of the Diana International Research Project – established in 2003 – to advance knowledge about the status of women’s entrepreneurship around the world. 

The project involves leading researchers from 16 countries around the world, including the University of Ulster, who collectively aim to provide a platform from which to develop, conduct and share a global research agenda dedicated to answering questions about women entrepreneurs and growth-orientated businesses.

Professor Pauric McGowan, Director of NICENT, University of Ulster, said: “Women have such a crucial contribution to make in the development of the economy in Northern Ireland and we need to make bigger efforts to support them in the development of their entrepreneurial careers- whether within established businesses or as entrepreneurial new venturers.  

“It is crucial that we address the many barriers that women face in developing their enterprise careers and help them succeed. DIANA is one particularly important network in helping women meet this challenge.”

For further information, please contact:

Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter