News release: ‘Women’s rights/Equal opportunities; Plenary sessions, September 13, 2011: “Women setting up and running small and medium-sized enterprises need better financial and educational support, says a resolution adopted on Tuesday. Parliament also calls on Member States to help women over 50 to stay in or return to the labour market. Only one in ten women in the EU is an entrepreneur, as opposed to one in four men. Parliament therefore calls on the Commission, Member States and regional and local authorities to do more to publicise and improve take-up of funding opportunities for female entrepreneurs such as special grants, venture capital, social security provisions and interest rate rebates. The European Progress Microfinance Facility, for example, provides micro-loans of up to €25,000 to micro-enterprises and to people who wish to start up their own business but who have no access to traditional banking services. “In spite of all the constraints and restrictions faced by women today, a growing number of women have proved to be more than capable of creating successful businesses. Put simply, in a time of economic uncertainty, Europe can no longer afford to leave such a vibrant source of potential untapped!”, said rapporteur Marina Yannakoudakis (ECR, UK).”