1. Women’s participation in social
ventures
Simon Teasdale,
Third Sector Research Centre,
9 May 2012

2. Overview of terminology
• Social enterprise
• Social entrepreneurship
• Social Ventures
• Third Sector

3. Women as social entrepreneurs
• Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
Surveys: four women social entrepreneurs for
every five men
• Annual Small Business Service (ASBS) Surveys:
one female led social enterprise for every 5.5
male led social enterprise

4. Explaining the discrepancy
Private sector Third Sector
220,000 Private sector 1,800,000 Social
social enterprises led by entrepreneurs initiating or
social entrepreneurs leading third sector
organisations
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Small Business Survey
For Profit Non Profit

5. Women on SE boards
• 41% of board members (of organisations responding to the
2011 SEUK survey ‘State of the Sector’) were women
– This compares with 15% of FTSE 100 directors and 43% of
charity trustees in 2011
– Female board members were most prevalent (45% or more) in
Health and Social Care; Youth, community, childcare,
counselling; and Education
– Female board members were least prevalent in Financial
Services; Environmental and recycling services
– Male dominated boards made up 46% of the sample. Female
dominated boards made up 19% of the sample. The rest were
‘balanced’ (40-60% women)
– Social enterprises governed by women tended to be smaller,
less profitable, and more reliant on public sector grant income

6. How do women ‘choose’ to help out?
Proportions of men and women providing informal help of different kinds
Men Women All
Any kind of informal help in the last 12 months [*] 62 65 64
Baby sitting or caring for children [**] 12 26 19
Doing shopping, collecting pension or paying bills [**] 13 19 16
Decorating, or doing any kind of home or car repairs [**] 17 4 10
Total (unweighted base) 4,063 5,269 9,332
*= significant at 5% level
** = significant at 1% level
Source 2007 Citizenship Survey

7. Gendered employment in the third
sector?
• 67% of the third sector workforce was female
(compared to 64% in the public sector and 40% in
the private sector)
• (Unsurprisingly) most of those employed in the
third sector worked in ‘caring’ roles
– 59% within ‘health and social care’
– 13% within education
• Women more likely to work in ‘caring’ roles
– 63% within ‘health and social care’ (compared to 49%
of men)
– 13% within education (compared to 11% of men)

8. The third sector as female led?
• Women make up 50% of higher managers and
professional within the third sector
• Women make up 65% of all managerial and
professional positions within the third sector

9. Women and leadership within the
third sector
Proportions of all employees (in the third sector) who have higher and lower
management/professional positions
Men Women All
Higher managerial 21 10 14
and professional
Lower managerial 41 47 45
and professional
(All other positions 38 43 41)
Total (unweighted 651 1423 2074
base)
Chi-sq(2) = 50.0, p< 0.001.
Source 2009 LFS

10. The gender pay gap
Mean Gross hourly pay
Hourly pay Men Women Differential
(‘gender pay gap’)
Private sector £13.51 £10.17 33%
Public sector £15.25 £12.46 22%
Third sector £12.97 £11.13 16%
Source 2009 LFS

11. Gender pay gap for managers
Mean Gross hourly pay
Hourly pay Men Women Differential
(‘gender pay gap’)
Higher managers and professionals
Private sector £22.95 £20.91 10%
Public sector £21.40 £19.21 11%
Third sector £18.64 £18.11 3%
Lower managers and professionals
Private sector £16.22 £12.80 27%
Public sector £16.03 £14.69 9%
Third sector £13.82 £11.98 15%
Source 2009 LFS

12. Key points
• Women setting up or running social ventures are more
likely to adopt a third sector (not for personal profit) legal
structure.
– Female led social enterprises (and volunteers) are clustered in
‘caring’ industries
– They are less profitable and more reliant on grant income
• Women make up a majority of the workforce and take up a
majority of managerial and professional positions within
the third sector
– However women take only half of the highest level positions
– Women higher managers tend to be concentrated in smaller
organisations
• The gender pay gap is smaller in the third sector than other
sectors, and almost disappears for higher managers

13. Key questions
• Why are women attracted to / compelled
towards the third sector?
• Has the glass ceiling been broken in the third
sector?
– Why do men take a majority of board positions and
half of all senior management positions but only
constitute a third of the third sector workforce?
• What will be the impact of increased
marketisation / professionalization of the third
sector on women’s participation?

14. Data used in this presentation was
taken from:
1. Teasdale, S., McKay, S., Phillimore, J., &
Teasdale, N. (2011) Exploring gender and
social entrepreneurship: Women’s
leadership, employment and participation in
the third sector and social enterprises,
Voluntary Sector Review, 2 (1): 47-76.
2. Lyon, F., & Humbert, A. (under review)
Gender balance in the governance of social
enterprise, Local Economy