UK businesses led by women grew turnover faster on average than male-led firms and companies with mixed leadership teams in 2025 but are still held back when it comes to access to finance.
That’s the finding of the latest edition of the Gender Index, which tracks the UK’s companies.
The study found that female-led companies increased turnover by an average of 22.1% in 2025, surpassing male-led companies (18.0%) and mixed-led firms (17.8%).
However, only 13.2% of fast growth businesses were run by women and access to external capital remained an ongoing issue for many female entrepreneurs, the report said.
In 2025, 12.1% of female-led companies got funding, the index found, compared to 18.5% of male-led companies and 17.2% of mixed-led companies.
This is despite 18% of active companies in the UK being female-led, with the 12.1% figure for female entrepreneurs down on the 12.8% who secured finance in 2024.
There were challenges with scaling companies too. Only 13.2% of the UK’s high-growth companies in 2025 were female-led.
Female founders’ difficulties in accessing finance has been a persistent issue for many years. A 2025 report by the Women and Equalities Committee warned that female entrepreneurs remain significantly under-resourced, and less than 2% of venture capital goes to fully female-founded teams, a figure that has barely changed in the last decade.
Out of £18 billion equity investment in 2025, fully female-founded teams received just 1.75%. In addition, the average equity deal for female-led businesses was £500,000, compared to £3.7 million for male-led companies.
Government efforts to tackle the problem with access to finance include the Invest in Women Taskforce which recently announced that its flagship fund for female business owners has reached a formal first close of £130 million.
In the report foreward, Gender Index chair Sam Cooper-Gray said:
“The Gender Index has reached its fifth anniversary and while we are pleased to be able to provide UK business with an accurate analysis of the company landscape by gender, it may not be a time to celebrate. Why? Because for the past two years there has been no discernible change – just one in five companies is female-led.
“Without more action to change the status quo, the opportunity cost to the UK economy cannot be ignored. The data shows that female-led companies continue to outperform those led by men and mixed teams in turnover growth, yet for some reason these businesses find it harder to scale.
“What is preventing growing turnover from translating into scaling business for female-led companies?
“That’s the £310 billion question. According to Nottingham University and the recent Female Founders Rise Report, that is what the UK economy would gain annually if women started and scaled companies at the same rate as men. We need to identify what’s holding them back, and make the necessary changes in funding, financial services, government policy and within the businesses themselves to nurture growth.”
Other findings in the Gender Index report
In 2025, there were 5.3 million active companies in the UK, with 18% led by women, down from 18.2% in 2024.
Across the UK nations, England had the highest proportion of female-led companies (18.1%), followed by Wales (17.1%), Scotland (17.0%) and Northern Ireland (15.9%).
By region, London (18.6%), the South East (18.5%) and South West (18.4%) had the highest proportion of active female-led companies.
In the UK in 2025, 13.2% of high-growth companies were female-led.
Among the UK nations, Wales had the highest proportion of female-led high-growth companies (16.3%), followed by Northern Ireland (14.2%), England (13.2%) and Scotland (11.6%).
Sam Cooper-Gray added:
“Female founders are not asking for charity. They are asking for the same access to capital, the same deal sizes, the same assumption of competence that their male counterparts receive as a matter of course. And in return, the evidence is clear: they will deliver returns that outstrip the market.”