Gender gap persists: despite 52% rise in UK tech startups, women lead just 24% of new companies
Entrepreneurship in the UK tech sector is thriving, with a record 144,596 new tech companies launched in 2024 - a 52% increase year-on-year (Instant Offices). However, only a fraction of these - 24% - are founded by women in line with a stark decline in the number of female founders in all UK industries, raising urgent questions about gender equality and the effectiveness of current support systems for women in business.
Despite ambitious government targets to grow the number of female entrepreneurs by 600,000 by 2030 (GOV.UK), the share of women-founded businesses has plummeted in most of the UK’s largest cities. This trend threatens the diversity and resilience of the UK’s world-leading tech ecosystem and highlights the critical need for targeted support for women in business.
Top UK Tech Hotspots in 2024: Female Founders Represent Just 8-11% Across Leading Cities
| Top UK Tech Hotspots | Total Tech Companies 2024 | Total Tech Companies Founded by Women 2024 | Percentage of Female Founders 2024 |
| London | 51,943 | 4601 | 9% |
| Manchester | 3,235 | 286 | 9% |
| Birmingham | 2,637 | 207 | 8% |
| Belfast | 1,818 | 155 | 9% |
| Glasgow | 1,639 | 174 | 11% |
Despite the tech sector having some of the most funded new startups, women are massively underrepresented in the sector. According to Instant Offices research, female entrepreneurs represented a tiny proportion of tech founders last year.
London has the greatest number of female tech founders, with 4,601, while Glasgow has the highest YoY proportion of female founders. However, in both cities female founders only make up around 10% of the total number of new tech businesses founded.
Bridging the Gap: Why Female Tech Founders Need Urgent Support
Female founders remain significantly underrepresented and underfunded, receiving just 2p for every £1 of equity investment-a figure unchanged in a decade (GOV.UK). Gender bias in venture capital, limits women in decision-making roles, and stereotypes about scaling ability create major funding barriers. Coupled with societal challenges like the gender pay gap and the “motherhood penalty,” which add financial and practical obstacles, plus a lack of visible role models, these factors discourage women from entering and succeeding in tech.
Targeted support is essential to overcome these systemic issues and unlock the full potential of female tech entrepreneurs.
To reverse the decline in female founders, it is essential to address both systemic and societal barriers. Solutions include:
- Expanding access to venture capital through women-focused funds and by increasing diversity among investment decision-makers.
- Enhancing mentorship and networking opportunities tailored to women, to build confidence, provide guidance, and create valuable business connections.
- Challenging gender stereotypes by celebrating female entrepreneurial success and increasing the visibility of women founders in media and education.
- Supporting working mothers by developing policies that address the gender pay gap and provide practical support for balancing business and family life.
Sources & Methodology
Data was compiled by Instant Offices, analysing the number of tech companies launched in the UK in 2024 compared to the previous year. The research covers sectors including software development, IT, telecommunications, digital services, ecommerce, and more. Demographic insights were drawn from the Generation Entrepreneur Report and Instant Offices’ proprietary data.