Persistent gaps in funding and representation
Despite growing awareness, women continue to face systemic barriers across the VC landscape. Female‑led founding teams receive less than 3% of UK venture funding, and mixed‑gender teams also lag behind all‑male teams. These disparities stem from structural factors and bias that appear early in the investment process: reduced access to networks, greater scrutiny in due diligence and particular challenges in capital‑intensive sectors such as AI, engineering and life sciences.
The imbalance is reflected within investment firms themselves. While women now hold around 27% of UK investment roles, fewer than one in five senior VC professionals are women, this can have the effect of limiting diversity in how deals are sourced, assessed and supported. This underrepresentation not only ultimately affects who receives capital but narrows the industry’s ability to identify opportunity, assess risk effectively and unlock long‑term growth.
The evidence for inclusion
The business case for change is compelling. Diverse leadership teams have been shown to deliver stronger returns, more robust governance and greater innovation capacity. This pattern extends into early‑stage investing. Female angel investors - who make up just over 14% of the UK angel market- have backed more than 6,500 companies and invested over £1.76bn since 2015. Their participation has risen by 60% since 2022, and they are significantly more likely to fund female‑led businesses. This creates a clear “give to gain” cycle: widening the pool of women allocating capital, directly increases the number of women able to access it. Thus, enhancing the range of investable opportunities.
Policy momentum supporting systematic change
Momentum for reform is growing across the UK. Last year, the Women and Equalities Committee published a report on female entrepreneurship and barriers to it. It made a number of proposals to the government to boost female entrepreneurship.
At the same time, policymakers are placing increasing emphasis on transparency, encouraging venture firms to report how capital is allocated across different founder groups and investment committees to support meaningful accountability.
The British Business Bank is playing a central role in this shift. Its new £500m package includes a £400m initiative to support diverse and emerging fund managers through direct support, micro‑fund investment and partnerships with VC firms. At least half of this capital is intended for female fund managers, signalling a deliberate push to increase diversity within investment decision‑making. The Bank has also doubled its commitment to female‑led funds to £100m and launched practical initiatives - such as its Emerging Female Investor Open Office Hours - to help women navigate and enter equity investment programmes more easily.
Together, these measures reflect a growing commitment to shifting imbalances at both founder and fund‑manager level, laying the groundwork for a more inclusive and competitive venture ecosystem.
Embedding “give to gain” in vc practice
For the VC sector, embracing a “Give to Gain” approach means taking intentional steps to remove structural barriers and expand participation. Strengthening pathways for women entering investment roles helps diversify decision‑making, while greater support for women‑focused syndicates, networks and early‑stage pipelines broadens access to capital.
As these efforts gain traction, the commercial upside is clear. Female‑led companies often demonstrate higher capital efficiency, stronger job creation and a broader innovation base. Recent angel activity alone has generated more than 14,550 jobs since 2022 and supported over 2,000 female‑founded businesses, illustrating the scale of economic contribution that follows when investment becomes more equitable.
Including women in the investment cycle is ever more pressing with as much as 60 per cent of the UK’s wealth being understood to be in female hands.
As the UK venture ecosystem marks International Women’s Day, the message is clear: “Give to Gain” is not symbolic but a commercially strategic imperative. Prioritising inclusive access, transparent governance and equitable participation delivers measurable economic benefits. A venture landscape that allocates capital fairly is more competitive, more resilient and better positioned to lead the next wave of innovation and growth.
As part of this commitment to greater visibility and equity across the UK business landscape, DWF is proud to support the Gender Index Report in 2025 and 2026.
Article authored by: Caroline Colliston, Douglas Pyrke, Sofie Gill and Kirtsy Wright.
