Hello
A recent report from The Women's Business Council looked into women's opportunities at all stages of their working lives - and found that, though girls tend to do well at school, their own career ambitions don't always match their educational attainment.
The report urged investment in the futures of girls and young women, in order to maximise their economic potential, and increase the UK's competitiveness in a global market.
Here, WBC chair Ruby Macgregor-Smith CBE argues that fostering greater business ambition in girls is crucial - and suggests how we might go about it.
"I'm passionate about unblocking the obstacles that restrict talent rising to the top of business. And for me, a critical stage is in 'starting out'.
I'm often asked how I got to where I am, and what the key enablers were that made it possible. When I was young, I faced many of the same obstacles your children face today - attending a local state school, I was given little information and even less inspiration about what I could achieve. Academically, I didn't stand out at school, and I didn't pass my exams with top marks. I went into accountancy simply because my dad was an accountant. When I left school, I had no idea I could lead a FTSE business: I understood what one was, but that was about it!
I've been really lucky during the course of my career to be hugely supported by those I worked for, who always told me I was capable.
Getting into BDO Stoy Hayward to train as an accountant was the first time I realised I could do really well - and when I joined Serco, it was the then CEO who said he saw some real potential in me. That belief from people who employed me gave me the confidence I really did lack.
When David Telling and Ian Stewart asked me to join the board of MITIE I had never been a PLC director before, but their message was simple - they said they could teach me the things I did not know. The fact that they were prepared to do that explains how I've got where I am today. We all need to be supported in our careers and aspirations: no one gets anywhere without it.
If I can do this, so many more of our daughters can. We need to give them the opportunity, the confidence and the belief to do so; if we do this, they will do the rest.
If we want to fix the talent pipeline and get more girls into business, we urgently need to broaden career aspirations and career choices. We need to open our children's eyes, minds and hearts to the opportunities and the possibilities that today's global economy offers them. We need to provide them with more than just information, we need to provide them the inspiration that allows them to realise what they can achieve.
So, how do we do this? And importantly, whose job is it? The simple answer is it's everyone's job. Children are the product of their collective experiences, and the more we can broaden these experiences, the better equipped they are to make the right choices and the more likely they are to succeed.
There is no doubt we radically need to improve the way careers advice and work experience is delivered in our schools - it doesn't work. The result is that our children are leaving school without the skills needed to enter the workplace - this simply isn't acceptable. For me, an education is about more than passing exams - it has to prepare our children for the evolving modern world they enter upon leaving.
But schools can't be the only answer, if we are to drive the change that is needed. Business has a significant role to play, and business must continue to reach out to schools. I am a real believer in the Speakers 4 Schools programme - we need to provide girls with access to role models at every stage of their learning.
The wider the range of role models the better - and in my opinion, everyone regardless of their position within business can be a role model. By getting leaders, entrepreneurs and employees into schools, we will increase understanding, but more importantly we will raise aspirations and we will inspire girls to achieve. I ask that at every opportunity, you encourage your schools to engage with these programmes and with business within your local area.
Finally, the role of parents is critical. Our children's future, as mine was, is shaped so much by their parents. Parents need to be proactive in creating opportunities for their children to understand what their future could be. As part of the WBC recommendations we have proposed a 'parent pack' that will give parents a single location for the information they need to help their daughters broaden their aspirations. I would encourage you to use this as it becomes available.
'Starting out' is only one of the obstacles that restrict women achieving their potential: we have to do more around reducing the costs of childcare, we have to create better solutions for flexible working in our businesses and we need to do more to help women gain the skills necessary to set up and run their own businesses. Only through raising aspirations for our children, whilst also removing these obstacles, will we will fix the talent pipeline and give them the opportunities they deserve.
The WBC report is a start, it identifies the scale of the task ahead and the path we must travel. The journey will be long and hard, it involves fundamental cultural change both within our schools and within our businesses. I have never been surer that the destination is worth the journey, and that through inspiring our daughters and removing the obstacles in the work place, we can make a difference - for them, and for future generations. The role of parents is critical and as a mum, I'd encourage everyone to support this journey.
To learn more please do read the WBC report."
Join the discussion and meet other Mumsnetters on our free online chat forum.
Chat
Guest blog: it's time to foster business ambition in girls
KateMumsnet · 10/06/2013 13:23
Can I just add that girls need to think about all businesses, not just the traditional female ones.
Totally agree about careers service. It hasnt been right imo going back for decades.
I think it may have got even worse, partly becuase there are just so many different sorts of jobs.
Would also add, to anyone reading this, to get careers books out of the library. They are actually quite good, and have reasonably up to date information, including salaries, qualifications needed, skills needed etc etc.
And go through it with your sons and daughters.
It may well open their eyes to oppurtunities thwy had not thought of before.
[might stop others going to accountancy just because their parent did 
]
I believe that young women should be encouraged to think of their careers, and I agree about not just directing them into 'female' careers.
I worked in a female-dominated industry for some years. It's female until middle-management, then it's dominated by men...
I met a young woman some years ago. When the IT course at her school was oversubscribed, all the girls who'd signed up for it were (without consultation) put on to a Childcare course instead. 
There must be a shift in the way people think about looking after children - it's hugely important, but it should not simply be the job of mothers and women to think about it. We should be teaching young men that if they become fathers, childcare is also their responsibility.
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.