Mr. Mark Fielding:

I thank the Chairman for the invitation. If I were reporting to a board of directors with information such as that we are not using one half of our resources to their optimum; that half of our available resources is better academically than the other half; that half achieved a 35% higher return on investment than the other half; that half of our resources uses on average one third less capital when setting up a start-up; that half bring in 12% higher revenue than the other half when backed by a venture capitalist; and that the half we are not using tends to be more practical and sensible than the other half, is responsible for up to 85% of all our purchasing decisions in the home, is the largest economic force not just in Ireland but in the world and uses more than half of all the products manufactured, including technology products on websites, then one might think that having that half not just as staff but in positions of leadership would define the future direction of the company and be beneficial and directly advantageous to us.

We know the half I am referring to are women. This is not about gender equality or managing to some diversity metric; it is about innovation and competitiveness. When we think about it, because of conscious or unconscious bias, women in the main tend to be excluded. Through the centuries women have rarely been given credit for their achievements and have been discouraged from studying science, technology, engineering, business or mathematics because these sectors were considered male fields. Women still face some discrimination at all points of their careers and, more often than not, are shunned by bankers and venture capitalists. It is a culture issue, it is an unconscious bias issue and it is a chicken and egg issue. The culture will not shift until there are women in business in the tech industry. Many women will not feel comfortable in the business and tech industry until the culture changes. If we fail to get the other half fully involved in our socio-economic sphere then it is a competitiveness issue. Further, it is not a battle of one half against the other; it is not women against men. It is about using the strengths of each half to increase the results, not alone in business but in the social aspect of our lives.

In terms of a competitiveness issue, many empirical studies have found that people with more diverse sources of information generated consistently better ideas. Diverse teams, more often than not, out-performed teams composed of the very best individuals because the diversity of perspective and problem-solving approach trumps individual ability. Therefore, we must level the playing field for women by supporting their start-ups and removing hurdles that are thrown in their way. Also, parents must inspire their daughters to step forth and take their rightful role in the innovation economy. I reiterate, this is not about gender equality or managing a diversity metric, it is about competitiveness.

One of the main issues of concern is education. Women's educational choices have resulted in the number of women that could potentially set up in business, science and technology or turn an invention into a profitable market products being lower than the number of men. There is a certain lack of business training when undertaking technical and scientific studies. This applies across the board for entrepreneurs, not just for females.

Perceptions also play a part. Entrepreneurship, science, technology, innovation and invention are concepts mostly associated with the male or to be in the male sphere. There is a pervasive stereotyping of women's capacity for leadership. Entrepreneurship, science, technology, innovation and invention are male dominated sectors in which women are still perceived by some market stakeholders as less credible or less professional.

Traditionally, the female is the homemaker within Irish families and tends to absorb most of the childminding responsibilities. That traditional view about the role of women in society and the greater difficulties in balancing family responsibilities with working in fast-moving and competitive sectors creates its own issues.

There is also the exclusion from informal networks. In many sectors jock-talk and late night boozing still oil the wheels of commerce. Lack of access to relevant networks creates its own difficulties. Also, behaviour which in men is seen as assertive or principled can sometimes, in a woman, be seen as overbearing or strident, which creates difficulties.

In terms of role models, there is a lack of role models on the female side but their number is increasing. There are too few women in top jobs to show how it is done. We need more women in these positions in order to send a positive message that women can be successful.

There is an need to increase that.

In business there has been a flattening of organisations in recent years and certain layers of management have been taken out. This has meant there are steeper steps than there used to be, leaving fewer opportunities for people when they re-enter the workforce at higher levels. Many women, inevitably, take time off during their careers.

There are difficulties in accessing finance from a female perspective. Last week a case was brought to my attention involving a 29 year old entrepreneur who happened to be female, but that is beside the point. She had been asked by her local friendly banker whether she could get her husband, or, if not, her father, to sign a guarantee. The banker was a female.

There is discrimination against female entrepreneurs in the social welfare system. Female entrepreneurs looking for maternity leave must have 52 weeks' PRSI contributions, whereas an employee needs to have 39. This is a 33% difference. The discrimination continues because a self-employed female must give 12 weeks' notice of maternity leave whereas an employee need give only six. The way we treat female entrepreneurs at administrative level is pointing to the difficulties.

In a nutshell, we need to tackle these issues. There is a great need for data on the number of female entrepreneurs currently working. I am a great believer in knowing the numbers because we can then measure and manage the situation and improve the numbers. There is no point in talking about increasing female entrepreneurship levels if we do not know our starting point. We need to undertake a general assessment of policies to assess how big is the gender gap and identify sectors that are more problematic. I have already spoken about how there are women-specific needs. Women encounter obstacles and it is important that this is brought forward in education.

It is important to support women's development of their business ideas through coaching and mentoring. This applies across the board; it is not just a female matter, but it is a specific area that we need to promote. One of the issues that we come across frequently relates to programmes being put in place by Government, the promotion of which is not as good as it could be. We need informative events with specific training to encourage women to consider entrepreneurship as a viable or feasible career. We need to plan activities aimed at facilitating women's networking. On the finance side, we need to improve the ability of females to network with financial providers, including venture capitalists, bankers, etc., and increase the understanding of the financial stakeholders in respect of women's potential. Regional forums could be a help in this regard.

I have already mentioned mentoring. The provision of individual mentoring, in particular, from other successful female entrepreneurs, but not necessarily so, is important. Increasing the visibility of female entrepreneurs is also important.

Child care is a major issue that keeps cropping up. If a female entrepreneur in Belgium wishes to take maternity leave, who takes care of her business? She gets what they call the flying entrepreneurs to come in and replace her during her absence. In Ireland, we do not have that type or level of assistance.

The discrimination really needs to stop. There is discrimination across the board with entrepreneurs and self-employed people. We have a programme under way, as part of which we are trying to get the self-employed to be taxed at the same level as others. This applies to males and females across the board. The social welfare anomalies could represent a quick win to get female entrepreneurs in and let it be seen that they are at least the equal of their employees. We have to level the playing field.

The Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has the ear of the Minister. While an equality and a diversity issue, which has been well exposed and discussed by many supporters of equality in all its forms, it is now time to take a different but parallel tack and address the challenge from the basic economic stance of increasing efficiency, productivity and competitiveness in that it is of benefit if we use one half, who are what we call the better half, in a more productive way. As I said, this is not all about gender equality but is about competitiveness. I will finish on that and just say we should be using our better half.