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As we write, our second 'Female VC' event is taking place in Brighteye's London office (~100 applicants- we will do more events soon!). To coincide with the event, we dove into Pitchbook to consider how founder gender data has evolved since 2014, looking at funding and deal activity for male-only, female-only and mixed gender teams.
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Despite ongoing pushes for diversity in entrepreneurship for the obvious reason that founders solving problems they’ve experienced tend to have more success (plus solve unsolved problems!), our latest data, with support from Pitchbook, on global and European founder demographics suggests slow progress.
Gender diversity in entrepreneurship has long been a topic of discussion, with research consistently showing that diverse founding teams contribute to stronger business outcomes, enhanced innovation, and increased profitability. However, despite these well-documented benefits, VC remains overwhelmingly concentrated in startups founded by all-male teams.
While there have been efforts to improve gender parity in the startup ecosystem, progress has been slow and, in some cases, even reversed. The reality is that systemic barriers - such as unequal access to funding, biases in investment decisions, and limited representation in leadership networks- continue to hinder female and mixed-gender founding teams. The data from the past decade highlights not only the persistence of these disparities but also the critical need for continued focus on fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial landscape. This said, some progress is being made in some quarters of the business world: in January 2024, 42.6% of FTSE100 and 42.1% of FTSE350 directorships were occupied by women and around half of all new FTSE100 board appointments were women (47%).
(An interjection: if anyone has any data on the number of companies registered in the UK/ Europe started by women and mixed founding teams, relative to men, we would be keen to see it as we have not seen this data).
One notable difference between the data for Europe compared to global trends is the proportion of funding allocated to female and mixed founding teams. While global numbers show a marginal but slightly larger share of investment directed toward these groups, European figures indicate a more pronounced imbalance. Several factors may contribute to this variation.
In Europe, investment strategies tend to be a little more conservative - in practice, this means that many investment firms' sourcing strategies tend to follow established networks over actively sourcing emerging or underrepresented founders. Cultural attitudes towards entrepreneurship also play a role - while some European countries have made strides in gender equality, others still exhibit traditional biases in leadership and investment.
Additionally, access to capital can be more centralised in some regions - in practice, this means that diverse founders outside of major financial hubs may face additional hurdles in securing funding.
There is naturally a mixed picture in the global markets. In the US and parts of Asia, the VC landscape is perceived as being dynamic and competitive where the push for innovation and higher-risk investments sometimes benefits diverse teams. However, there is also contradicting data to suggest that risk appetite and persuasions towards entrepreneurship within mixed and female-only founding teams is lower. While the ecosystem is (extremely) far from achieving true equity, the slightly higher percentage of funding for female and mixed-gender founders may reflect some success in targeted diversity initiatives, focused funding pools, and a more concerted push for inclusive investing in some sectors.
Understanding these differences is essential for designing more effective interventions that address both structural and cultural barriers to equitable investment opportunities.
The State of Play: founder gender in learning and future of work companies
Recent VC funding data in learning and future of work sectors highlights a persistent imbalance. Over the past decade, all-male-founded startups have consistently received the majority of investment. The fluctuations in total funding tend to follow the macro funding contexts.
At the the global level, between 2014 and 2024, the share of funding for all-male-founded startups remained dominant but saw some fluctuations. It started at 79% in 2014 - during the peak funding year in 2021, the figure dropped to 73% and settled at 74% in 2024. Female-founded startups, however, have seen limited movement in the portion of secured funding. Their share rose slightly from 2.4% in 2014 to 2.5% in 2021 but then dropped to just 1% in 2024. Mixed-gender teams saw the most noticeable improvement, growing from 14% in 2014 to a peak of 25% in 2021 before declining to 21% in 2024. You can see the funding and deal figures below.
In Europe, the trends were even more pronounced. The proportion of funding for all-male-founded startups barely shifted, starting at 86% in 2014, peaking at 85% in 2021, and returning to 85% in 2024. Female-founded startups remained underfunded, with their share decreasing from 2.5% in 2014 to just 1% in 2024. Mixed-gender teams saw a moderate increase from 6% in 2014 to 13% in 2021 but dipped slightly to 11% in 2024. You can see the funding and deal figures below.
These figures demonstrate that while there was notable growth in investment in diverse teams from 2014 to 2021, the recent downturn suggests a plateau, reinforcing the funding gap for female and mixed-gender founders.
This slow shift comes as diversity and inclusion initiatives face headwinds. Some investors and policymakers are deprioritising explicit diversity-focused efforts. However, the need for diverse perspectives in entrepreneurship remains critical and we will work to play a proactive role in ensuring this remains the case within our spheres of influence.
Why This Matters for the Future of Work and Learning
Innovation benefits from a range of perspectives, particularly in education and workforce development. With AI-driven learning tools and evolving job markets, ensuring that a broad set of founders contribute to solutions will be essential. This is even more critical within fields most impacted by AI, where what has gone before largely determines what is to be developed, biases and all.
Considerations for Change
To support a more balanced funding landscape, investors could actively seek out and back diverse founding teams, not only from an ethical standpoint but also based on the evidence of strong returns from diverse-led startups. Policymakers can play a role in ensuring equitable access to capital, and the startup ecosystem can offer better mentorship, networking, and resource-sharing opportunities for underrepresented founders.
At Brighteye, we hope that our deepening focus on supporting the development of female investors via our ‘Female VC’ events series will facilitate mentorship and smoothen the path to senior VC roles. As multiple studies have shown, female VC partners are twice as likely to invest in startups with at least one female founder and more than three times as likely to invest in startups with female CEOs.
Data tables:
European data:
Global data:
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