There are too many women who, before they had children, had top level jobs as Managers and Directors, Heads of Departments - tremendously talented intelligent women who, after taking time out to have children, find it impossible to find a job that will:

a) tap their talent and harness their skills and experience within the industry or sector or even the company in which they were previously employed

b) enable them to work flexibly so that they can work during school hours and childrens' bedtime hours, work remotely, job share, and so on.

Consequently these amazing women give up on their search and either

a) settle for a part-time job they are over-qualified for that does not challenge them or even make the most of their skills or experience

b) opt to take a risk and start their own little enterprise so that they can benefit from the flexibility that being self-employed provides, but without any financial support (as that is only provided to 18-30 year olds or people who've been unemployed (not on maternity leave) for a certain amount of time. (10% of the female population are thinking of starting up).

The Government and employers alike are surely missing a trick here.

By empowering, enabling and encouraging mums who are returning to the workplace or are venturing into the world of self-employed, the Government and employers alike can invigorate, motivate and re-energise the nation's workforce and production output; tap the wealth of wasted talent and boost/save the economy.

In the self-employed arena, financial support has been available for 18-30 year olds and long-term unemployed, but not intelligent over-30 mums who want to harness their skills and use their experiences to start their own enterprises.

Let's urge the Government to take action and follow Lord Young's recommendations to remove the age-cap on accesssing start-up loans and go a step further by providing additional funding for self-employed women and incentives for employers to offer flexible working initiatives to mums.

VISIT WiBBLE (Women in Business Brilliant  Local Enterprises) to find out more about the SWOT (Stop Wasting Our Talents) Campaign: http://wibble.us/events-news/the-wibble-swot-stop-wasting-our-talent-campaign/

See WHAT WOMEN WANT (at work) here:​