How to make your science business succeed when you’re a female founder

An estimated 25 million women in advanced economies have been denied the chance to start and grow their own businesses, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Women entrepreneurs receive only about 2% of total venture-capital investments globally, and are 63% less likely to secure funding compared to their male counterparts.

These findings highlight the stark gender gap in start-up financing, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sectors.

In the UK, the potential GDP could have been 12% larger in 2017 if women had started and scaled up businesses at the same rate as men, according to one estimate presented in the report. Female founders are also more than twice as likely to be asked questions centered on risks, interrupted five times more frequently during pitch presentations, and spend 7.4 months fundraising compared to 5.2 months for male founders.

The report comes as several women share their experiences in navigating a funding landscape that can often seem hostile. Emma Yates, chief scientific officer at Proteotype Diagnostics in Cambridge, UK, co-founded the company in 2019 with her husband to develop an affordable early-cancer detection method. Yates faced assumptions about her husband-and-wife founding team and was interrupted frequently during pitch presentations.

However, she believes that female founders often doubt themselves, making it harder for them to seek funding before having substantial evidence to back their ideas.

Yates received a £75,000 (US$101,000) Women and Innovation Award from Innovate UK to complete manufacturing validation of Proteotype's diagnostic kit. She also credits other programs for helping her with business development, such as assisting with clinical study design, technical evidence base, investor communication, and commercial development.

After having her first child in 2022, Yates faced challenges balancing work and parenting but would like to see more support for innovation grants and founder assistance programs that provide temporary operational cover and childcare during parental leave.