Female entrepreneurs ‘urged to speak out’ in new Australian project

More than 700,000 female entrepreneurs across Australia are being urged to contribute to a new research project, which is thought to be the country's first comprehensive study into women in business.

The project, which has been spearheaded by the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AWCCI), is set to get underway from today (September 28). It is managed by the Reiby Institute, which is an organisation focused on women's leadership in Australia.

According to the AWCCI, the results of the comprehensive Women In Business poll will help it better-represent women in business to government and industry groups.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the project, AWCCI chief executive officer Yolanda Vega asserted that it will provide particularly useful information about entrepreneurs.

The results of the survey, she added, will also help to identify the unique needs of women who run their businesses in remote communities, as well as remote, regional and rural areas.

Vega said: "While significant information is available on women in leadership and management roles, there is very little data on the hundreds of thousands of women running small to medium-sized businesses in Australia."