Women’s equality should be championed every day, not just one day a year

Entrepreneurship has held gender equality issues for far too long and women’s participation continues to remain incredibly low. Australian female founders received just 19% of venture deals in 2021 and only 22% of total funding throughout the year. It’s also reported that women only make up 28% of workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Women simply aren’t being represented enough in these spaces.

Compounding the entrepreneur gender gap further is the fact that female-led startups take up to 9 months longer to secure funding than their male counterparts. Even though businesses founded by women deliver twice the revenue per dollar invested than those founded by men, an overwhelming majority of investors shun them.

The pandemic has only heightened this — women shouldered double the amount of job losses than men, with the Grattan Institute report revealing that single parents (80 per cent of whom are women), were more likely to leave the labour force than any other group.

Whilst in recent years female founders have made giant leaps forward, particularly with incredible role models like Aussie female co-founder Melaine Perkins at Canva, women’s involvement in the startup sector has only increased by a mere 3% in the last twenty years.

What does this tell us?

The reality of the situation is that women founders face more challenges and have fewer incentives to crack the startup sector than their male counterparts. While access to opportunities, funding and support has improved for women in the startup space over the last couple of decades, there is still a long way to go to reach parity.

We need to break the bias and recognise that women’s equality, especially at a founder level, is paramount so that we can solve more real-world problems that affect women — a market that has been historically underserved because founders and investors are disproportionately made up of men.

Australia’s technology sector is slowly transitioning out of its male-dominated reputation. While there are certainly women who start hard-tech companies, they are still in the minority and they certainly don’t get their fair share of funding. Pervasive stereotypes and a lack of opportunity are often the major barriers I see holding women back.

How do we fix this?

Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix but increasing gender diversity at all levels is a step in the right direction. Australia’s tech sector is constantly evolving but the pace of innovation could be accelerated through increased gender diversity. The best types of innovation happen when there is a diversity of skills, talent and perspectives.

We also need more programs for women founders so that every woman in STEM wanting to develop entrepreneurship skills has a gateway to leadership opportunities and career advancement.

It’s more important than ever for free programs like UNSW Founder’s New Wave program — a dedicated women-led program for female entrepreneurs — to give women of all backgrounds equitable access to the right tools and skills to empower them to develop their business ideas to solve real-world problems and drive future change. New Wave has recently applied for funding under the  Federal Government’s Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship program and if successful, this will help in understanding and breaking down the systemic, cultural and intersectional barriers to women in Australia, to drive lasting change.

Likewise, disruption first starts with women and allies coming together, especially women supporting other women and sharing knowledge. At UNSW Founders, we’re combating gender disparity by providing the knowledge and mentorship they need to become Australia’s next best startup. The best way to do this is through meeting and learning from industry-leading businesswomen and gaining access to unparalleled support and advice from like-minded people.

So, happy International Women’s Day!

A day dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women, raising awareness against bias, and taking action for equality is fantastic. But realistically, this needs to be prioritised every day. Gender equality isn’t a female issue, it’s a social and economic imperative and increasing female entrepreneurship will significantly boost our economy, with reports suggesting the global GDP will increase by $5 trillion and in Australia will grow by up to 10%.

With this in mind, here’s to all the women that wear many hats — wives, mothers, mentors, managers, leaders and CEOs and here’s to another year of uncovering Australia’s next generation of female founders.

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