Government Taskforce Targets UK’s Gender & Regional Startup Gap
A new government-backed High Growth Enterprise Taskforce has revealed shocking stats showing major gender and regional divides in the UK’s booming business scene.
Women Founders Get the Short End of the Stick
Zandra Moore, regional sub-group head for the women-led Taskforce and CEO of Leeds-based Panintelligence, unveiled an interactive UK map at Downing Street today. It highlights where female entrepreneurs are thriving—and where they’re being left behind.
The Taskforce plans to advise the Government on how to boost the number of female entrepreneurs by 50% by 2030. That means an extra 600,000 women-led startups shaking up the economy.
Despite female-founded high-growth enterprises (HGEs) pulling in higher turnover (£125m vs £93.6m for male-founded), they receive just 60% of the funding male-led businesses get. Last year, women-led HGEs averaged £5.78m in funding per round, while male counterparts grabbed £9.55m.
North East Left Out in the Cold
- Of 44,000 HGEs tracked, fewer than 3% hail from the North East—ten times less than London’s 31%.
- The North East has virtually no women-led HGEs; none are majority or fully founded by women.
- Only five companies there have at least one female founder.
Industry Heavyweights Speak Out
“Women make up more than 50% of the UK population, yet only 6% of HGEs were founded by all-women or majority-women teams. We know women have the drive and skills, so we want to smash these barriers,” said Minister for Women Maria Caulfield.
“Closing this gap will boost the whole economy. Equality is not just right, it’s good business.”
Anne Boden, chair of the Taskforce and Starling Bank CEO and founder, shared her story: “I was a 5ft tall Welsh woman knocking on doors saying, ‘I’m going to start a bank.’ Who would back a woman in her 50s? Who in their right mind starts a bank?”
“I know the struggles women face—especially outside London’s tech bubble. We want every woman with a dream to have a fair shot at success.”
Big Opportunity Awaits
The Treasury-commissioned Rose Review warned that if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, the UK economy could soar by £250 billion. Now this taskforce aims to turn those numbers into reality. Watch this space.
