There’s been a lot of talk about encouraging women entrepreneurs since Alistair Darling announced a £12.5m fund dedicated to women’s start-ups in his first Budget.
While some people considered the fund quite patronizing and couldn’t understand why women should be singled out as in need of special treatment from the government, others thought it was a mere drop in the ocean, and further resources were needed.
In the spirit of all this discussion on women’s enterprise, we’ve analysed the gender make-up of our own Startups 100 list.
According to Barclays start-up stats, around 69% of new businesses are started by men, 19% are started by women and a further 12% are started together by both. The Startups 100 list gives a similar outlook on the gender divide for the UK’s new businesses. Nearly 30% of all the companies on the list were started solely or jointly by female entrepreneurs.
However, we’d like to point out that most of the companies on the list were ones that caught our attention long before we had any idea whether or not the founders wear high heels, use the new Gillette turbo razor or frequently leave the toilet seat up. They’re just good business ideas.
