A Decade of Change – And a Turning Point for Women’s Enterprise

Published for Women’s Enterprise Day – 19 November 2025
By Prowess: Women in Business – www.prowess.org.uk

To mark Women’s Enterprise Day 2025, Prowess: Women in Business is proud to launch the State of Women’s Enterprise Report 2025 — a comprehensive analysis of women’s entrepreneurship in the UK today.

This year’s report paints a vivid picture of transformation. The last decade has brought:

• Record numbers of women starting businesses

• Major growth in self-employment among women aged 50+

• Expanding participation in digital, professional and green-economy sectors

• New regional hotspots of female-led enterprise

But the report also reveals a worrying trend: while more women are starting businesses, fewer are scaling them. Women-led employer firms — the businesses that create jobs and strengthen regional economies — have declined sharply since 2021.

Our findings show a sector full of energy, creativity and ambition. Yet structural barriers, from finance to welfare policy, are holding back the full potential of women’s enterprise.

Record-High Entrepreneurship — But Fewer Employer Firms

One of the most striking findings is the growing gap between starting and scaling:

• Early-stage entrepreneurial activity among women has risen from 5.7% in 2015 to 9.2% in 2025 — the highest ever recorded in the UK.

• Women’s share of self-employment has grown to 36%, up from 30% a decade ago.

• But the share of women-led employer SMEs has fallen from 19% to 14%.

This decline matters. Employer firms drive:

The report shows that although women are highly active at the entry level — freelancing, consulting, and launching microbusinesses — the step up to employing staff remains a major hurdle.

Why Are Fewer Women Scaling?

Women’s businesses respond to economic shocks differently from men’s. The pandemic and the inflationary period that followed hit women-led firms hardest.

Key barriers include:

• Rising fixed costs and fragile margins

• Income volatility — especially for those on Universal Credit

• Limited access to finance

• Business models built around unpaid care and flexible work

• Sectoral concentration in low-margin industries such as care, wellbeing and retail

The report calls this “a maturing but uneven ecosystem” — one where more women are participating, but growth is uneven and often constrained by structural forces beyond the control of individual founders.

Older Women: The Fastest-Growing Entrepreneurial Group

A major highlight of the report is the rise of older women entrepreneurs.

Since 2015, the number of self-employed women aged 50+ has grown by more than 50%. They now make up:

• 1 in 4 of all self-employed women

• One of the most stable segments in the female enterprise population

• A group with strong professional experience and powerful networks

Yet they remain significantly underserved. Traditional business support and finance programmes often target younger founders, overlooking:

Recognising older women as a strategic growth segment is one of the report’s key recommendations.

The Geography of Growth Is Changing

The report challenges long-held assumptions about London being the centre of female enterprise.

While London has the highest number of women-led firms, the fastest growth is taking place elsewhere:

• North West England: +41%

• Scotland: +37%

• West Midlands: +35%

• Wales: +28%

What drives success in these regions?

• Local enterprise hubs

• Strong peer networks

• Accessible co-working spaces

• Devolved policy leadership

• Investment in inclusive growth and digital skills

The evidence is clear: place matters less than ecosystem.

Where women have access to networks, mentoring, skills and finance, they thrive.

Women in Digital, Professional Services and the Green Economy

Another encouraging trend is the shift into higher-growth, knowledge-intensive sectors.

Over the past decade:

• Women-led digital and ICT businesses have more than doubled (+115%)

• Sustainability consulting and green-economy ventures have tripled

• Professional services continue to expand, with women launching consultancies in HR, marketing, legal, architecture, design and finance

These sectors offer:

They also align strongly with the social-purpose values common in women-led enterprises.

But Inequalities Persist — Especially for Disabled and Ethnic Minority Women

The report dedicates an entire section to groups facing systemic barriers:

Disabled women entrepreneurs

• Higher business interruption rates

• Lower average earnings

• Limited access to finance

• Greater income fluctuations

• Heavy reliance on UC and PIP

Ethnic minority women

• Among the UK’s most entrepreneurial groups

• Yet receive a disproportionately small share of business finance

• Face discrimination in procurement, supply chains and lending

Women on Universal Credit

• Around 160,000 self-employed women now rely on UC or legacy benefits

• The Minimum Income Floor penalises part-time or seasonal earners

• Many reduce hours or close businesses to avoid breaching welfare rules

The report concludes that inequalities in earnings, assets and access replicate themselves in enterprise — unless policy is deliberately designed to counterbalance them.

Access to Finance: Still the Biggest Barrier

Finance remains the number one factor limiting growth:

• Only 1.9% of venture capital goes to all-women teams

• Women request smaller bank loans and are more likely to be “discouraged borrowers”

• CDFIs remain under-capitalised

• Start Up Loans are effective — but too small to support scale-up

Women consistently report:

The report recommends stronger gender-disaggregated reporting, particularly from public VC funds, and expanded follow-on finance for promising women-led firms.

Five Key Recommendations

The State of Women’s Enterprise 2025 report sets out five practical, evidence-based recommendations:

1. Recognise older women as a strategic growth segment
   Targeted mentoring, digital reskilling and later-life enterprise finance.

2. Align welfare and enterprise policy
   Reform the Minimum Income Floor, allow income averaging for UC claimants, and extend start-up grace periods.

3. Expand access to finance
   Strengthen the Investing in Women Code; require gender-disaggregated reporting across public VC funds; expand CDFI and regional investment; and develop follow-on finance for Start Up Loan recipients.

4. Support regional and sectoral diversification
   Invest in local enterprise hubs that integrate mentoring, childcare and digital skills.

5. Promote scale-up pathways
   Help women-led microbusinesses transition into growth firms through targeted incentives and support.

These actions are practical, achievable, and based on robust data.

A Call to Action: Unlocking the Next Decade of Growth

Women’s enterprise is one of the most dynamic and resilient parts of the UK economy. The trends are positive — but the potential is far greater.

To unlock the next decade of growth, we need:

The message of this year’s report is clear:

**Women are starting businesses in record numbers.

Now is the time to help them grow.**