Representatives from the world of trade gathered for the inaugural launch of a new organisation which aims to support women in trade and address the export gap.
The Women in Trade Hub UK (WiTH UK) launched yesterday (14 July), with an evening of networking at Warwick Business School’s campus at London’s Shard.
WiTH UK, created by the University of Warwick (UoW) with the support of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, aims to create a community for women in trade, bringing together existing resources while being responsive to the needs of female entrepreneurs.
Barriers to break
Noting that women face “systemic barriers” in business and trade, UoW’s Dr Rebecca Wilde said that WiTH UK will serve as a community that can “empower women, and empower men who support women, in trade management and operational roles”.
She added that it will also “give visibility, accessibility, and advocate with each other, for each other”, and ultimately close the exporting gap between women and men.
Highlighting the many “great organisations out there globally that support women in trade”, Wilde said there’s a lot of work to be done to boost the proportion of women-led trading SMEs and women in senior positions at larger trading organisations.
Export gap
The Chartered Institute’s director general, Marco Forgione, echoed the call to support more women export their goods.
Highlighting the severity of the export gap, Forgione reiterated Wilde’s point and noted that in 2025 in the UK, “in one of the largest economies in the world, one of the most attractive places in the world for inwards investment” only 15% of MSMEs are led by women and only a small proportion of those are estimated to export - with one estimate as low as 7%.
He welcomed the initiative as an opportunity to “come together” and “tackle the systemic challenges” facing women in trade to address that gap.
WiTH goals
Among WiTH’s goals, Wilde emphasised the value of having an active supportive community, where women can seek support and troubleshoot their issues, but also somewhere they can “celebrate their successes”.
Education, skills and outreach will also feature on the agenda for the hub.
Joking that “nobody’s thinking about exporting at 16”, Wilde noted that the “pipeline” offering structured career development in trade from an early age still needs to be built.
Another way the system needs to change, Wilde added, was in breaking down norms around work and working patterns which exclude women with domestic responsibilities.
Using Etsy sellers – 89% of whom are women – as an example, she said that “many women sit down to work at 7pm, after the kids are in bed, but by that time the phone lines are shut”.
‘Stakeholders advising us’
Wilde added that one of the most important aspects of WiTH is that it will be stakeholder-led, with women in trade advising her and the team about what they need:
“Stakeholders are advising and guiding us, as to what information they need, what visibility they need, how do we advocate with them and how do we advocate for them.
“I hope this Women in Trade Hub will be that conduit, bringing in all the amazing organisations that exist out there to give good direction and guidance”.
In that vein, ahead of the WiTH UK’s strategic launch in September, Wilde invited women to share their views on what support and resource they would like, via this link.
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