Women-led businesses secured just 3.5% of the equity funding being invested in UK businesses during the first half of 2023, new data has found.
The data, compiled by Beauhurst, looks at deal value and marks a slight improvement on the full-year total for 2022.
But there remains an enormous gulf between male-led teams, which secured 85.1% of the equity deal value in the first half of this year.
Startups led by a mix of men and women attracted 11.4% of funding over the same period.
The findings were published in a report by think tank The Entrepreneurs Network, in partnership with Barclays, and demonstrate the hurdles faced by female entrepreneurs in the UK.
“At just about every turn, female entrepreneurs experience obstacles that their male counterparts do not have to deal with – whether that’s when they’re raising investment or simply being taken seriously in business,” said Caroline Nokes, a Conservative MP and chair of the Women and Equalities Committee....