Women Entrepreneurs Less Likely To Receive Funding Than Men

Are we really that surprised that there's another gender gap when it comes to women and their careers? Nope. Does it mean we're going to shut up about it? Double nope.

An ongoing report into the UK’s early-stage, digital startups has confirmed another unsurprising, sad statistic when it comes to women entrepreneurs. Oh yes, apparently women are far less likely to receive entrepreneurial funding than men.

In fact, male entrepreneurs are a whopping 86% more likely to receive Venture capital (VC) funding (a form of private equity investment where a business receives long-term funding in exchange for a share of its equity).

But why is this? Well, for a start it could be down to the limited number of women in this sector, with only a third of the startup population in the UK being female.

But it could also be down to the dominance of an “old boy’s club” in VC funding circles, who are loathe to lend their pennies to women they don't know or trust.

Gary Stewart from startup accelerator Wayra reckons that women seem to be more reluctant to hand over parts of their business to investors. And his observation could be confirmed by the fact that female entrepreneurs are 37% more likely to self-funded. But it all begs the question: is this because it’s their choice, or out of necessity?

Having said all of this, our sisters over in the US have it tougher - apparently UK startups are five times more likely to be female-led than their counterparts across the pond.

The extensive (and depressing) Startup DNA report also claims bias can be seen in the areas of startups that men and women choose to create businesses in. Whilst few males set up lifestyle businesses, the same can be seen from women who delve into finance-related ventures.

However, with more light shining on the women who dare to deviate from the stereotypical career paths, we’re hoping this sexist, gendered career gap will begin to close soon.