There remains a huge gap between male-led teams, which secured 85.1 per cent of the equity deal value in H1 2023

Women-led businesses secured only 3.5 per cent of the equity funding being invested in UK businesses during the first half of 2023, new data has revealed.

The data, compiled by Beauhurst, looks at deal value and marks a slight improvement over 2022.

But there remains a huge gap between male-led teams, which secured 85.1 per cent of the equity deal value in H1 2023.

Startups led by a mix of men and women attracted 11.4 per cent of funding over the same period.

The findings were published in a report by think tank The Entrepreneurs Network, in partnership with Barclays, and demonstrate the barriers faced by female entrepreneurs in the UK.

At just about every turn, female entrepreneurs experience hurdles that their male counterparts do not have to deal with – whether that’s when they are raising investment or simply being taken seriously in business, said Caroline Nokes, a Conservative MP and chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.

Nokes cited Treasury figures that estimate Britain could benefit from up to £250 billion in new economic value if women in the UK started and scaled businesses at the same rate of men.

Women-led firms make up 17.3 per cent of the UK total, as per The Gender Index, which rose by only 0.5 percentage points on last year’s figures.

We must work harder to close the gender funding gap, incentivise more women to become investors and put more resources into entrepreneurship education, she added. In the private sector, business leaders and investors need to give women entrepreneurs a fairer hearing.

When looking at deal volume instead of value, women-led startups accounted for 10 per cent of the total compared to 75 per cent for male-led startups.

Both these metrics – which look at all businesses, not just tech – are a slight improvement when looking at the whole of last year.

In 2022, women-led startups accounted for 9 per cent of equity deals by volume and 2 per cent by funding value, as per a separate report published by Beahurst.

It is immensely rewarding to see the positive progress made from the concerted efforts across the financial services industry, education institutions and government to lower the barriers to female entrepreneurialism, said Juliet Gouldman, director at Business Banking at Barclays.

However, the systemic issues identified will not be resolved overnight, so an ongoing determination will be needed if we are to achieve lasting change.