A LOCAL Coventry MP has said that women “hold the key to supercharging our economy”, following a reception hosted in Parliament to mark International Women’s Day.
On International Women’s Day (March 8th), Labour leader Keir Starmer, deputy leader Angela Rayner, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow women and equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds hosted the reception in Parliament to celebrate the contribution of women entrepreneurs.
Taiwo Owatemi, Labour MP for Coventry North West, was joined at the event by Cornelia Papureaunu, owner of Papp’s Café on Holbrook Lane, to celebrate the success of women-led businesses in Coventry.
To coincide with the reception, Labour pointed to statistics that show that women-led SMEs contribute around £85 billion to the UK economy and that diverse companies are more commercially successful.
Ms Owatemi, said: “Women like Cornelia hold the key to supercharging our economy to get it back on track as we recover from a pandemic that hit women disproportionately hard.
“Companies that have more women at the top perform better – and women-led small and medium sized businesses contribute billions to the economy.
“That’s why Labour would put women at the heart of our recovery by backing women in business by creating 100,000 new start-ups, bringing in stronger family-friendly rights and equal pay comparisons across employers, and cracking down on workplace harassment.”
Cornelia Papureanu, owner of Papp’s Café, said: “I was delighted to be invited to participate in this reception dedicated to International Women’s day.
“I was pleased to see so much appreciation displayed towards women in business, all the more so given the fact that I have my own business and I know that the success of any business requires hard work, courage and tenacity.
“I left this reception with a wonderful feeling: entrepreneurial women are a force in the labour market, enjoying a real respect from the business community.”
