Female Founders Monitor 2025: There is a lack of female entrepreneurs
The hope that more women will become startup founders has existed for years, but the reality is different. According to a study conducted by the German Startups Association on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the proportion is actually declining. There are a number of reasons for this. One ray of hope: At least women are catching up in terms of financing.
Proportion of female founders slips below 20 per cent
More than 1,800 startup entrepreneurs and 1,000 students across Germany were surveyed for the study. One data basis is the annual German Startup Monitor, which was first conducted in 2013, making it easier to compare the current results. According to the survey, the proportion of female founders in the German startup ecosystem is declining for the first time: after rising continuously over the last five years, in 2024 the figure is 18.8 per cent (2023: 20.7 per cent). Further key findings are:
While 60 per cent of female students place greater value on job security, only 32 per cent of men do. For example, 40 per cent of male students can imagine founding a company or working in a startup - compared to only 21 per cent of female students.
Women discover entrepreneurship later: 65 per cent of male startup founders already discovered entrepreneurship as a career goal in their youth and at university - compared to 43 per cent of female founders.
87 per cent of female founders see inequality in the startup ecosystem as a problem, but only one in two male founders. However, when they work in mixed teams and have at least one female co-founder, awareness of the problem rises to 64 per cent.
There is a positive trend in investments: the number of venture capital financings for startups with at least one female founder has almost doubled since 2017 - the invested capital has almost quadrupled. Nevertheless, 91 per cent of capital still flows into all-male teams.
Both women (81 per cent) and men (60 per cent) in the startup ecosystem see the compatibility of family and entrepreneurship as a decisive factor in closing the gender gap - the importance of female role models is also emphasised.
