Female Entrepreneurship: Call for Evidence

Ordish, A, Armstrong-Gibbs, F ORCID: 0000-0002-2672-1290, Fisher, S ORCID: 0000-0002-2877-4935, Hussein, H ORCID: 0000-0001-8649-140X, Nolan, S ORCID: 0000-0001-9625-8273 and Haj Youssef, M ORCID: 0000-0002-6011-1605 (2025) Female Entrepreneurship: Call for Evidence. UK Parliament, UK Parliament Committees.

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Abstract

1.What are the barriers facing women, including specific group of women such as those from an ethnic minority background, seeking to start and grow successful business in the UK? Female entrepreneurs in the UK face significant challenges in starting and growing businesses, with financial barriers and limited access to capital being particularly pronounced. Female-led businesses, especially those run by ethnic minority women, struggle to secure funding due to gendered risk perceptions and discriminatory lending practices. These challenges are compounded by cultural expectations, societal norms, and the "double burden" of balancing business ownership with family responsibilities, which often restrict women's full participation in entrepreneurship. The barriers extend beyond financial constraints, encompassing limited access to professional networks, male-oriented business support services, and institutional obstacles. Women entrepreneurs, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, encounter complex regulatory requirements, lack of tailored mentorship, and insufficient institutional support. The impact of economic uncertainties, such as Brexit, further exacerbates these challenges, disproportionately affecting women-led businesses. 2. Sectors Where Women Face the Greatest Barriers to Entrepreneurship in Liverpool City Region. Women in Liverpool City Region face significant barriers to entrepreneurship, particularly in tech and innovation, care and social care, food and wellbeing, and creative and cultural sectors. Challenges stem from bias in innovation funding, unconscious gender perceptions, structural barriers, and caring responsibilities, which limit women’s access to business opportunities and investment. To overcome these barriers, funding models must shift from “high growth” to “creative solutions,” ensuring inclusive investment quotas, seed funds for community-driven ideas, and innovation incubators for women, particularly Black and older entrepreneurs. Additionally, affordable childcare, transport support, and majority female representation in funding decision-making are crucial to driving real systemic change. By addressing these challenges, Liverpool City Region can foster a more inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem for women. 3. How can women best be supported to overcome the challenges they face in securing funding to start and grow their businesses? Based on primary research conducted with over 50 women in 2023 by the one-day group- https://www.onedaylcr.com/today. Female entrepreneurs face significant challenges in securing funding due to systemic biases, restrictive funding criteria, and structural barriers. To address these issues, funding models must be redefined to focus on impact-driven innovation rather than “high growth,” recognising small, purpose-driven businesses. Establishing Seed Funds for community-driven ideas and implementing quotas for women-led businesses can create more inclusive financial opportunities. Structural support is also crucial: affordable childcare, accessible transport, and non-competitive funding network scan remove practical barriers that limit women’s participation in entrepreneurship. Additionally, increasing women’s representation on funding panels and embedding mentorship programmes will challenge biases and ensure decision-making reflects diverse entrepreneurial needs. Rather than expecting women to adapt to biased systems, policies should focus on fixing these barriers to create a truly equitable business landscape. 4. What examples are there of best practice in supporting female-led entrepreneurship, both in the UK and internationally? Promoting female entrepreneurship is key to economic growth and gender inclusivity. Various initiatives have been implemented globally, focusing on financial support, mentorship, networking, and policy interventions. While these strategies have been effective, challenges persist, particularly in securing financial capital and accessing formal business networks. In the UK, organisations like WICED provide tailored business support. Sweden has successfully integrated gender-sensitive policies, offering financial grants, childcare support, and tax incentives to boost female entrepreneurship. Networking and mentorship programmes such as MentorHer have improved business success rates, but many women, especially from ethnic minority backgrounds, struggle to access professional networks. Globally, microfinance initiatives like Grameen Bank in Bangladesh have enhanced financial inclusion for women, though structural gender biases remain a barrier to scaling businesses. Technology is also an enabler, with digital platforms and social media providing alternative markets and business opportunities. However, traditional gender biases still shape perceptions of entrepreneurship. Family and community support play a crucial role in sustaining women-led businesses, particularly in cultures where domestic responsibilities hinder professional advancement. 5. What steps should the Government take to help support the development of female-led high growth enterprises? To foster female entrepreneurship, innovation must be redefined beyond traditional "high growth" models to include impact-driven growth, emphasising social value, community benefit, and incremental improvements. Language shifts towards terms like "creative solutions" and "purpose-driven innovation" can make funding more accessible to women. Targeted investment strategies should include quotas for female-led enterprises and tiered funding models, such as Seed Funds for early-stage ideas and Growth Funds that prioritise long-term impact over immediate financial returns. Non-competitive finance models can encourage collaborative, rather than competitive, funding approaches. Structural barriers must also be removed by investing in government-funded childcare, subsidised transport, and housing support, ensuring women can balance business growth with personal responsibilities. Systemic representation should be strengthened, ensuring funding panel members are women and that unconscious bias training is mandatory for funding bodies. Building innovation ecosystems through lived experience incubators and cooperative networks will provide mentorship, partnership opportunities, and industry connections. Policy alignment is essential, embedding female-led businesses into national innovation strategies and ensuring transparency in funding allocations. Additionally, education and training must be reformed to ensure accessible, practical, and strategic business development for women entrepreneurs. By fixing systemic biases, rather than expecting women to adapt, governments can create a truly inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial landscape. 6. What data exists or is required to track success and monitor progress in female entrepreneurship? While numerous studies examine female entrepreneurship, much of the existing research is cross-sectional, qualitative, and based on small, non-representative samples, focusing on entrepreneurial intentions, motivations, and barriers rather than long-term business trajectories. While such studies offer valuable insights into gendered entrepreneurial experiences, they often lack longitudinal depth and national representativeness, limiting their ability to track real business success over time. Large-scale, longitudinal studies, akin to the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), provide robust datasets for understanding broader economic and social trends but are not specifically tailored to track entrepreneurial journeys. Further, despite a boost in sampling amongst ethnic minority respondents, it remains a challenge to identify the differences in entrepreneurial behaviour across these groups with enough statistical confidence. A dedicated, entrepreneur-specific longitudinal study would enable researchers to assess the evolution of women’s businesses, their financial growth, access to capital, policy effectiveness, and long-term survival rates, offering a much-needed evidence base for policymakers and support organizations. Without such comprehensive data, the ability to craft impactful, data-driven interventions to support female entrepreneurs remains significantly constrained.

Item Type:	Other
Additional Information:	© UK Parliament 2024 This written evidence is licensed under the Open Government Licence 3.0.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Female Entrepreneurship; Barriers; Growth; Liverpool City Region; Government Support
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business
Divisions:	Liverpool Business School
Publisher:	UK Parliament
Date of first compliant Open Access:	10 July 2025
Date Deposited:	10 Jul 2025 09:06
Last Modified:	10 Jul 2025 09:06
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26751

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