Social enterprise, a form of business with primarily social or environmental objectives, can be a useful tool to alleviate poverty amongst the most marginalised in society and has a role to play in regenerating neighbourhoods and increasing community cohesion. The Government recognises that increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women starting up social enterprises will potentially enable many groups of ethnic minority women, such as Pakistani and Bangladeshi women who are under represented in the workplace and in society, to become more economically independent and participate more fully in communities. There are at least 55,000 social enterprises in the UK which contribute £8.4 billion pounds to the UK economy, but evidence suggests that BAME women are underrepresented as social enterprise owners.
20 August 2008
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