Girl Power Goes Global

11.32.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 12th Feb 2007

Sharon, Sarah Ludford MEP, Bola Olabisi of EUWIIN, Ona Jukneviciene MEP at the launch of EUWIIN

Sharon Bowles, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South East, has today welcomed the launch of a new initiative promoting the achievements of female entrepreneurs: the EU Women Inventors and Innovators Network.

EUWIIN will provide funding and training, and will campaign for equal opportunities in the business, science and technology sectors in which women are still a tiny minority: representing only 18 % of the business enterprise sector and a shocking 8% of science and technology academics in Europe.

Sharon Bowles, who is a patron of the new organisation, said "It is outrageous that this gender gap should still exist. The idea that the world of business and science is for men only should have disappeared in the nineteenth century."

As a former scientist and patent attorney herself, Sharon understands the pressures and pitfalls facing female innovators. Sharon said "We should inspire women to achieve all of their ambitions, whatever they may be, and remove the barriers which stand in their way", adding that "Female innovators are a huge untapped resource - it is in our own interests to support them".

EUWIIN is part of The Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network which has already held two 'Female Inventor of the Year' awards ceremonies in England, celebrating the achievements of female British talent, like Megan Beynon from Winchester who last year won a Gold award for the ground breaking website technology she designed for IBM.

For more information on EUWIIN visit www.euwiin.eu

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