Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander, TSB, Metro Bank, the Co-operative Bank and Bank of Ireland UK have today all signed up to the Investing in Women Code, alongside venture capital firms Frontline, Episode 1, and Angel networks UK Business Angel Association, Angel Academe, and institutional investor British Business Bank.

The Investing in Women Code is a commitment to support female entrepreneurship in the UK by improving women’s access to the advice, resources and finance needed to build a business.

In response, IW Capital launches its Women’s Entrepreneurship Index. The index explores why it is that women have to work so much harder to start their own businesses, through no fault of their own.

According to the British Business Bank, start-ups with all-female founder teams get less than 1% of available capital compared with 89% invested in all-male founders. Mixed-gender teams make up the remaining 10%. Contextualised by the fact that currently, only 14% of business angel investors in the UK are women.

Key statistics

• Half of women believe that their professional success is down to personal merit, conviction and perseverance and not the guidance of academic or professional support. This is versus 57% of men (14% higher for men) 
• A third of women (34%) feel more disillusioned with the corporate ladder than ever before
• Nearly four in 10 (38%) of women do not feel that they will be richer than their parents 
• A third of women (33%) feel less supported by the government to start their own business venture than previous generations
• Women are 21% less likely to consider an entrepreneurial route more attractive than working for someone else than men (34% of men vs 28% of women)
• Nearly a third of women (31%) are mindful or concerned about the impact of Brexit professionally and societally

The gap remains 

Sentiments towards entrepreneurship still reflect a perceived advantage for men in the UK to start their own business over women

• Men are 52% more likely to feel they have the capital to start a business than women (35% of men vs 23% of women)
• Women are 21% less likely to consider an entrepreneurial route more attractive than working for someone else than men (34% of men vs 28% of women)
• Half of women believe that their professional success is down to personal merit, conviction and perseverance and not the guidance of academic or professional support. This is versus 57% of men. (14% higher for men) 
• Fewer than one in five small and medium-sized enterprises in the U.K. are led by women
• Two-thirds of women felt they had not been taken seriously by potential investors when raising money for new ventures.
• Just 9% of U.K. start-up funding goes to women-run businesses.

Today’s index reiterates a study conducted by the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) – a key signatory on the Investing in Women Code – which showed the disparity between the potential investment available for men and women. It found that over half (54%) of female Angel investors had backed at least one female-founded business whilst only a small minority of male investors had done the same. This is worsened by the findings from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Index, that men are three times more likely to have greater than £250,000 of investable assets available than women (9% of men vs 3% of women).

What Women Code can inspire

Luke Davis, CEO and Founder of the company that commissioned this research – IW Capital – commented on the findings: “After yesterday’s introduction of the Investing in Women Code, this subject has scarcely been more important. Optimum productivity across our private sector can only be secured by utilising the full capacity of this nation’s diverse talent pool. Failing to do so will, of course, impede the growth and success of our economy, with up to 50% of the potential and subsequent productivity being restricted.”

The SME arena contributed £1.9 trillion to the UK’s economy in 2017 and so making sure that it has the widest possible pool of talent to draw from is vital. As the backbone of the private sector, they will be a huge factor in determining the success of Brexit and onwards. Encouraging investment into female-founded businesses is clearly something that must be improved upon through legislation as well as fostering an environment in which women feel that they have the support and resources available to start businesses.”

>See also: APPG report calls for the empowerment of female entrepreneurs