Female entrepreneurship

Women and Equalities Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 30 Jan 2025 Parliament page
The Women and Equalities Committee will examine the barriers women face pursuing entrepreneurialism. The inquiry will analyse in which sectors of the economy women face the greatest obstacles to entrepreneurship and why, and consider what can be done to address these.
25 Recommendations
16 Conclusions
1 Report
6 Oral sessions
1 Letter
6 Events
Activity timeline 15 events
22 Apr
2026
Oral evidence
22 Apr
2026
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
25 Feb
2026
Oral evidence
25 Feb
2026
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
27 Jan
2026
Report published
22 Oct
2025
Report published
3 Sep
2025
Correspondence
2 Jul
2025
Oral evidence
2 Jul
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
4 Jun
2025
Oral evidence
4 Jun
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
7 May
2025
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
22 Apr 2026
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Women and Equalities Committee
Blair McDougall MP · Department for Business and Trade Kristen McLeod · British Business Bank Paula Crofts · Department for Business and Trade The Lord Stockwood · Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury
25 Feb 2026
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Women and Equalities Committee
Debbie Wosskow OBE · Invest in Women Taskforce Jenny Tooth OBE · UK Business Angels Association Tara Attfield-Tomes · The 51% Club & EAST VILLAGE
2 Jul 2025
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Women and Equalities Committee
Gareth Thomas MP · Department for Business and Trade Gillian Unsworth · Equality Hub Paula Crofts · Department for Business and Trade The Baroness Gustafsson CBE · Department for Business and Trade
4 Jun 2025
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Women and Equalities Committee
Alice Albizzati · Revaia Jenny Tooth OBE · UK Business Angels Association Rupert Lyle · West Midlands Co-Investment Fund Sophie Winwood · unlock VC
7 May 2025
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Women and Equalities Committee
Devie Mohan · Burnmark Dr Roni Savage · Jomas Associates Izzy Obeng · Foundervine Louise Hill · GoHenry
2 Apr 2025
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Women and Equalities Committee
Debbie Wosskow OBE · Invest in Women Taskforce Dr Lorna Treanor · The University of Nottingham Dr Sarah Marks · Swansea University School of Management Jill Pay · The Gender Index Professor Ute Stephan · King's College London Stephen Welton CBE · British Business Bank
Title HC No. Published Items Response
8th Report - Female entrepreneurship HC 711 22 Oct 2025 41 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
11 results
Clear
5 Conclusion Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Mandate FCA to require venture capital firms to report and publish female-led business funding data.
We do not accept arguments that transparency and accountability in venture capital are too difficult, and neither should the Government. The Financial Conduct Authority should be mandated to require all registered venture capital firms to report on the number and … Read more
Government Response
The government deflects the recommendation for the FCA to mandate reporting and levy penalties on venture capital firms, instead highlighting Innovate UK's existing Women in Innovation Programme and its commitment to inclusive innovation.
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12 Conclusion Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Establish a dedicated Minister and Office in DBT to oversee women's business strategy.
The strategy should be overseen by a dedicated Minister and Office within the Department for Business and Trade akin to the US Office of Women’s Business Ownership, with an assigned budget and responsibility for driving implementation of the strategy, and … Read more
Government Response
The government deflects the recommendation for a dedicated Minister and Office to oversee strategy, instead mentioning a Call for Evidence on tax incentives for business founders, which is unrelated to the proposed governance structure.
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16 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Ringfence 30% of Regional Angel Programme funding for female investors and businesses; publish data.
We call on the British Business Bank to ringfence a minimum of 30% of Regional Angel Programme funding for supporting female angel investors and investment in female-led businesses across the regions and to publish data on take-up by gender. The … Read more
Government Response
The government deflects the specific recommendation for the British Business Bank's Regional Angel Programme, instead highlighting the recently announced UKEF Female Founder Export Accelerator, which aims to support women-led businesses in scaling internationally through workshops, mentoring, and funding pathways.
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18 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Launch a Female Enterprise Investment Scheme with higher incentives for women-led businesses.
The Government should launch a Female Enterprise Investment Scheme to sit alongside the EIS and SEIS, with higher incentives to specifically drive investment in women-led businesses. People who invest in women-led businesses should receive greater benefits. Existing biases in the … Read more
Government Response
The government supports the goal of promoting investment in women-led businesses but believes this is best achieved by amplifying existing industry-led initiatives like the Invest in Women Taskforce, rather than launching a new Female Enterprise Investment Scheme.
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20 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Launch campaign to raise awareness of SEIS, EIS, and FEIS among investors and entrepreneurs.
The government should launch a campaign to increase awareness of the SEIS, EIS and proposed FEIS schemes among investors and female entrepreneurs. The campaign should be appropriately tailored to ensure underrepresented groups of women are aware of the schemes. The … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discusses a review of parental leave and pay for self-employed parents, completely unrelated to the recommendation to launch a campaign increasing awareness of investment schemes and collect associated data.
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23 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Require Government update on steps to secure investor support for the Invest in Women Taskforce.
The Government should update us in its response to this Report on the steps it is taking through its convening powers to get those investors, particularly the signatories of the Mansion House Accord, to support the Taskforce. (Recommendation, Paragraph 88) … Read more
Government Response
The government's response details its plans for childcare provision and reform, including a Department for Education review, Tax-Free Childcare, and the National Wraparound Childcare programme, which is unrelated to the recommendation about convening investors to support the Taskforce.
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25 Conclusion Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Regional mentorship programmes for founders are too small-scale to drive national growth.
We received compelling evidence on the value of tailored mentorship programmes and support both for investors and founders. More regional initiatives are being developed but, while these are extremely welcome, 56 we are concerned that they are too small in … Read more
Government Response
The government's response details reforms to the STEM curriculum and highlights existing STEM initiatives like the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code and STEM Ambassadors programme, which is unrelated to the recommendation for a national mentorship programme for female founders and investors.
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31 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Increase Maternity Allowance for self-employed mothers and permit more Keeping In Touch days.
We acknowledge the Government’s desire to protect a mother’s time with her baby. As such, we recommend that Maternity Allowance is increased for self-employed mothers in the first six weeks to bring it closer in line with Statutory Maternity Pay. … Read more
Government Response
The government defers action by stating that the recommendation will be considered as part of the Parental Leave and Pay review, which launched in July 2025 and is expected to run for 18 months. Decisions on reform will depend on the review's findings and other factors.
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32 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Reclassify Maternity Allowance as earned income for Universal Credit to support self-employed women.
The Department for Work and Pensions should review funding for Universal Credit and reclassify Maternity Allowance so that it is not treated as “unearned income” for the purposes of Universal Credit, so that when self-employed women access it, their Universal … Read more
Government Response
The government deferred the recommendation to reclassify Maternity Allowance for Universal Credit purposes, stating it is within the scope of the Parental Leave and Pay review. The response also explained that Maternity Allowance is currently treated as unearned income due to the means-tested nature of Universal Credit, a policy upheld by court judgments.
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33 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Reform to paternity and shared parental leave schemes is long overdue.
We reiterate the conclusions from our report on paternity and shared parental leave. Improved paternity leave and pay and reform to the shared parental scheme is long overdue and would directly benefit female entrepreneurs. (Recommendation, Paragraph 129) Read more
Government Response
The government has deferred action on improving paternity leave and pay and reforming the shared parental scheme, stating these are in scope of a parental leave review launched on 1 July, expected to run for 18 months, after which a roadmap for potential reforms will be developed.
Government Equalities Office
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36 Recommendation Deferred
8th Report - Female entrepreneursh…
Childcare availability and affordability are crucial for increasing female entrepreneurship rates.
The availability and affordability of childcare must be addressed to increase entrepreneurship rates among women. Making childcare more easily available and affordable would benefit the founding, performance and persistence of female-led businesses, while being vital for reconciling work and family … Read more
Government Response
The government has deferred a comprehensive response, stating the Department for Education will lead a review of childcare provision to simplify the system. The response also highlights existing initiatives like Tax-Free Childcare and the expansion of government-funded childcare, and mentions future plans for nannies will be set out in the coming months.
Government Equalities Office
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Government Response AI assessment · 41 of 25 classified
Accepted 16
Accepted in Part 6
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 11
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 3
Total 25 recs + 16 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
3 Sep 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Investment, Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury and the Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports, Department for Business and Trade, dated 20.08.2025
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