Investors overlook women in tech - and risk missing out on billions of pounds

29 May 2025, 09:40

As one of the Labour Party’s Business Tech champions I recently partnered with global tech leader, Block, to invite some of the UK’s leading female tech entrepreneurs to the House of Commons.

I wanted to find out firsthand what their experiences have been and the challenges they face in relation to accessing capital, skills and talent, and regulation. But importantly, their insights will inform a list of recommendations that I will put to the Rt. Hon. Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Department for Business and Trade so that we can truly shift the dial.

There’s a massive opportunity right here, right now - worth billions - that’s being missed by the UK’s leading investors.

It’s putting their money behind the UK’s phenomenal talent pool of women tech entrepreneurs.

Investors should be clamouring over each other to secure these game-changing tech opportunities that could add up to £250 billion of new value to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as UK men.

Access to growth capital remains stubbornly low

Last year, Block research revealed that 79% of women self-funded their start-ups and 39% of female founders said that poor access to finance is preventing scale-up plans. Quite frankly, I’m surprised that the latter figure isn’t higher given that the vast majority of investors are men. They feel safer investing in known territories, which are generally run by other men.

Some say unconscious bias is to blame yet despite strong financials, concepts, and viability it’s clear that the hurdles for women are simply set higher. We need to challenge this.

Women only started building businesses in recent years, yet they’re expected to go above and beyond to demonstrate a track record that they’re going to make money for investors. I understand that investors want to ensure they achieve a return on their investment, but do they show the same restraint when judging investment opportunities from men?

Imagine a world where investors took a risk on the incredible home-grown female tech talent right here on our doorstep, and the significant advances that could be made in innovation.

Skills and talent

It’s evident that funding is needed at the startup stage to upskill female entrepreneurs in tech and digital, so that they are not hindered and can go on to succeed at pace in their entrepreneurship. While funding is coming in at the scale-up stage, if it came in at the start, these women could hit the ground running from the early stages.

This financial commitment to talent would help to retain our best women in the sector. However, another big issue in retention has reared its ugly head: we lose half of our female tech experts by the time they hit 35. Lack of pay transparency, career progression, and poor workplace culture, including sexual harassment, are key parts of the problem. Women need to be in a tech environment that is not only safe but also one where they are allowed to succeed. We need to provide incentives for those who invest in women and create effective programs that champion them.

These tech entrepreneurs are highly driven, they want to contribute to the economy, create wealth, employ people and nurture tech talent. But the reality is that tech talent in the UK is expensive, with some looking abroad so they can afford to bring on the talent they need to grow their business - we need to create incentives to hire locally.

Regulation

It goes without saying that regulation is important and necessary; it is a core component of tech entrepreneurship, and Government is committed to cutting red tape here.

What we need is balance, ensuring that regulation is proportionate, that we protect consumers, and also that we foster innovation and allow entrepreneurship to flourish.

Some say investors might be scared off by regulation but as long as it is fit-for-purpose, and regulators work with the tech industry, common ground can be found, ensuring a stable and secure environment in which the industry can work and thrive.

So, where do we go from here?

I’ll be sharing the findings and recommendations from the roundtable with Government and continue to work with Block and these brilliant female tech founders to check where things are progressing and where they are not, continuing to push for progress.