Female founders face historic funding drought
In 2025, Australian startups with all-female founding teams received less than 0.5% of total venture capital funding—a historic low that underscores persistent gender disparities in the startup ecosystem.
A Downward Trend
This alarming statistic marks a significant decline from previous years.
In 2024, women-only teams secured just 2% of all capital raised, down from 4% in 2023.
Despite increased participation in early-stage deals, the overall share of capital allocated to female-led startups has steadily decreased.
The Scaling Challenge
While early-stage funding shows promise, with women-led or mixed-gender teams accounting for a significant share of angel and pre-seed deals, this momentum stalls at later stages. At the Series A and B levels, representation of women plummets, and the capital available to female founders diminishes sharply.
Structural Barriers Persist
The persistent funding gap is not due to a lack of capable female entrepreneurs but rather systemic issues within the venture capital landscape.
All-male founding teams raise, on average, 3.7 times more than female-only teams.
This disparity is often attributed to unconscious biases and a lack of diversity among investors.
The Economic Case for Change
Investing in female-led startups is not just a matter of equity; it's economically sound. Research indicates that businesses founded by women often deliver higher returns on investment. Moreover, closing the gender funding gap could significantly boost the economy.
Moving Forward
To address these disparities, experts suggest implementing measures such as mandatory reporting for venture capital firms on gender-based funding allocations, increasing diversity among investors, and establishing funds specifically aimed at supporting female entrepreneurs.
Sources:
- SmartCompany: Australian startup funding for women hits record low in 2025
- Missing Perspectives: Still have a mountain to climb
- Fast Forward: Women in VC & Startup Funding: Statistics & Trends (2025 Report)
- ABC News: Trump wants to end diversity quotas but investors say Australia needs them
- Startup Daily: Why backing women founders is the smartest bet for investors
- The Times: ‘Invest in women’ fund draws fire from MPs