Women entrepreneurs are on the rise, leading startups that innovate across tech, wellness, education, social impact sectors and more. According to female entrepreneurship statistics at the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, women’s startup activity rates rose from an average of 6.1% between 2001 and 2005 to 10.4% from 2021 to 2023. Wells Fargo’s 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report indicates that the number of women-owned businesses increased at almost double the rate of their male counterparts between 2019 and 2023.
The impact of female founders goes beyond statistics. Empowering women in business creates more diverse teams with varied experiences and perspectives, ultimately resulting in better outcomes. Below, we’ll dive into why women entrepreneurs are on the rise, highlight success stories and examine existing barriers.
Why Women-Led Startups and Female Founders Are on the Rise
As workplace expectations and gender norms progress, more women are successfully stepping into entrepreneurship roles. This could lead to growth in various industries as female-led startups often outperform their male-led counterparts in terms of ROI, according to Fundera by NerdWallet. Their teams are also often more diverse, especially relating to gender diversity, which can result in more creativity and innovation. Greater visibility of these successful women founders may then inspire a new generation of women to launch and lead their own businesses.
Increased access to digital tools and global platforms—like social media and e-commerce platforms—also help women launch, scale and lead teams.
Key Industries Are Being Transformed by Female Entrepreneurs
Women worldwide are launching successful businesses and driving change. From tech and health to education and social impact, here are a few industries shaped by female founders.
Tech and Fintech
Although the field is still male-dominated, women are making innovative advances in technology and fintech. For example, in tech, Michelle Zatlyn co-founded Cloudflare, a web performance and cybersecurity company that’s helping build a better internet. Today, roughly 20% of websites are protected by Cloudflare. It blocks 247 billion cyber threats each day in over 330 cities worldwide. In fintech, Laurel Taylor founded Candidly, a solution to student loan debt. Candidly’s data-driven approach addresses the full lifecycle of education expenses, from college planning to saving for tomorrow.
Health and Wellness
Many women entrepreneurs exist in the health and wellness industry, and they’re creating powerful solutions to global issues. For example, Yunha Kim’s former mental wellness platform, Simple Habit, offers over 2,000 meditations to reduce stress. She sold the company to Ingenio in 2023 and rebranded as Sleep Reset, which uses science-based methods to improve sleep quality. Sleep Reset’s members report getting 85 minutes more total sleep and needing 53% less time to fall asleep.
Education and Edtech
Education is another area where women in business are making an impact, though there are still challenges. For instance, Kimberly Bryant is one of many BIPOC women entrepreneurs transforming edtech. Bryant founded Black Girls Code, a nonprofit introducing technology education to Black girls, and the Black Innovation Lab, a startup supporting tech innovators in the U.S. South as they build societal impact companies, leading them to equity and generational wealth.
Sustainable Fashion and Eco-Innovation
Female leaders are seeing the need for sustainability in business. Some studies suggest that women entrepreneurs are more likely to incorporate sustainability into their business models. One example is how Eileen Fisher and Stella McCartney lead the sustainable fashion and eco-innovation space. Fisher’s brand has historically been known for its commitment to ethical production, and they recently launched Horizon 2030, a further plan to make clothes with a positive impact via circular design and regenerative agriculture. McCartney is a trailblazer in eco-friendly and vegan materials. By innovating new, cruelty-free materials, she’s changing the future of luxury fashion.
Social Impact and Nonprofit Startups
Female founders are also influencing the social impact and nonprofit sectors. A powerful example is the work of Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi-American humanitarian and entrepreneur who established social impact and nonprofit startups. She launched Women for Women International to help women in countries affected by war by providing life, business and vocational skills to create a sustainable difference in their lives. She also co-founded Daughters for Earth to address climate solutions to help protect and restore our Earth.
Barriers Female Entrepreneurs Still Face
Women entrepreneurs are breaking ground across many industries, but continue to face barriers. Understanding these barriers is key to creating equal entrepreneurial opportunities.
Gender Bias in Venture Capital
Despite progress, women in venture capital are still underrepresented. Women represent only 8.6 % of all venture capitalists, which leads to funding challenges for female startup founders.
Jeep Kline, founder and managing partner at Raisewell Ventures, explains that because male venture capitalists highly dominate the industry, there is a “subconscious bias” when investing in products that women create. Melissa Wallace, co-founder of the capital investment firm Fierce Foundry, agrees with the funding bias, stating that venture capital “tends to invest in people who look like them, pitch like them and build like them.”
Access to Mentorship and Networks
Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn much from successful women founders, including resiliency, strategy and vision for the future. However, the lack of female role models in male-dominated fields can potentially hinder women’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Balancing Entrepreneurship With Caregiving Roles
According to a recent study, “Two out of three family caregivers are female.” This reality might mean that many women entrepreneurs are running a business while taking on the majority of caregiving responsibilities for children or family members. Unfortunately, this mental load can lead to burnout, emotional strain or difficulty in career advancement.
Systemic Underrepresentation in Leadership
“Women remain underrepresented in management roles in the U.S. workforce,” according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Representation matters, and when women don’t see other women in top positions, it can be more difficult to imagine themselves there.
Success Stories: Women Founders Leading the Charge
Women entrepreneurs are reshaping traditional leadership models as we know them. The focus is shifting to collaboration, sustainability and emotional intelligence. These founders and women of influence are trailblazers who will continue to inspire future generations in their fields.
Reshma Saujani (Founder, Girls Who Code)
When Reshma Saujani noticed the gender gap in technology, she founded Girls Who Code to help young women pursue opportunities in computer science. Her company grew from a small program to a national movement, and now, hundreds of thousands of girls have learned to code. As a leader, Saujani encourages bravery, not perfection, emphasizing that if you fail, you’ve learned something, and you can try again.
Jeep Kline (Founder & Managing Partner at Raisewell Ventures)
Jeep Kline is a venture capital and technology executive. As a trailblazer in the industry, she earned a Top 25 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley distinction. Kline was the first Thai woman to launch an impact venture capital fund in Silicon Valley and also the first Thai professional faculty member at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. At Raisewell Ventures, she works to create a lasting, generational impact on societies and economies through venture capital and technology. Kline is a direct communicator who believes in the power of mentors, stating that “mentorship takes a village” and admitting that she’s had over 100 herself. She learns lessons from different people and diverse groups and blends them with her own values to become the leader she is today.
Payal Kadakia (Founder, ClassPass)
Payal Kadakia sparked a fitness movement. The ClassPass app, which grew from a failed first launch to a billion-dollar company and global brand, lets users find a fitness class that fits their schedule. Under her intuitive leadership, she designed a team with the right people based on three characteristics: positivity, growth and efficiency. Throughout her career, she’s learned that authenticity is the key to success in leadership.
Building a Future of Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Women in Venture Capital
Representation, mentorship and equity are vital for empowering women in business. Women business owners or those interested in entrepreneurship can seek help from governments, accelerators and corporations. Initiatives and organizations supporting the rise of women in business, like Women Entrepreneurship (WE) and the Tory Burch Foundation, are incredibly helpful for continued growth. Women can also search for community resources, like women entrepreneur networking groups on social media and organizations such as the Association of Women’s Business Centers and SCORE. Organizations like this help women entrepreneurs network with peers, find mentors and learn essential skills to start new businesses and tackle challenges.
The Transformative Impact of Women in Business and Entrepreneurship
Women entrepreneurs are redefining the business world. Unfortunately, access to funding, mentorship and inclusive ecosystems are still a challenge, but new initiatives and support networks are helping to bridge the gap.
How can you be an ally? Support female-led businesses, or even start your own. Share success stories, continue learning about women’s entrepreneurship and connect with women leaders to shape a more inclusive future.
Photo courtesy of Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock
