I'm a business owner of 8 years, and mother of two. I'm a landlord and I started my letting agency from scratch and now employ 8 people, I also run a Mums in Business support group. I experience and hear about prejudice all the time from the women I speak to and realise that a lot of men still get to 'pull rank' when it comes to financial or household major decisions and when last minute child care is needed - and this just isn't right. There is a tendency for some men to view that a woman who runs a business, but is connected with their wife socially (even via business networking), somehow it isn't running an outfit as serious as other businesses. The elephant in the room is that it can't be a 'proper' business, as the perception is that women just start small cottage industry 'pin money' businesses and we are not thinking big - it just makes my blood boil! Sometimes they don't even bother to meet with me themselves, or they are in the house but don't talk to me - the judgement has already been made and they let their partner invite me along with his choice of agent as a token gesture. I spoke to someone this week who said all that was expected of her was to be a machinist in a local factory when she was growing up, she's now very successful in her own right and that girls still are not being educated to 'think big'. This is just two examples of the perception of women in society still - it needs to change - now!!