Women face enormous obstacles in starting businesses, but that’s nothing we can’t overcome

By Lisa Woods

Graphic by the British Business Bank. Click for the full report.

It seems like a woman today must push her way through solid bricks if she wants to start a business in the UK. A Treasury report published last month found that female entrepreneurs get 157 times less funding than men. Even just having one woman on a start-up team plummets funding.

Although it is common knowledge that women are underrepresented in managerial roles, the extreme disparity in numbers is sobering and down-right shocking. These figures directly relate to the glaring truth that only 1/5 of businesses in Britain are female-led.

One major problem is the lack of representation of female investors. In the UK today, only 14% of angel investors are women which naturally affects female funding. This is not to say that men consciously pick other men over women, but on a subconscious level, and due to society’s innate bias, men instinctively flock towards other men. Also, in the case of a woman pitching a business idea aimed at female consumers, men may not be able to grasp the full scope and potential of the business as it is not something that they would directly be affected by.

Gender inequality will not just disappear at a flick of a wand or through female-only conversation, and although the government-commissioned report shines a light on the issue, it’s the big companies and investors who need to take direct action to help eliminate the obstacles in female entrepreneurship.

Despite this gender power imbalance, women have and will continue to fight their way to the top of the business ladder. Take Cher Wang for example who founded HTC smartphones or Karen Brady or Oprah Winfrey.

“I love to see a girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” – Maya Angelou

For more inspiration watch this amazing Ted Talk about the massively important role that women play in business and the wider economy