RESEARCH
STUDY OF WOMEN IN ENTERPRISE 2025
Our 2025 research report highlights the high levels of women-led businesses failing to progress beyond the start-up phase, and the need for a strategic, long-term solution to boost women-centric business support.​ More women are starting up in business than men, however proportionately few women-led businesses are making it through the post-start-up phase to establish and grow.
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While women-led business start-ups have increased to 54% of all start-ups in Scotland (2025), the post-start-up pipeline has a high attrition rate of 61% (2023-24), and women-led employer businesses have dropped to just 20% of all employer businesses.
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Our survey found that economic conditions are threatening business sustainability and reveals a devastating cost for women-led businesses; 78% cannot recover all their increased costs, 41% cannot recover any cost increases, 55% are using personal savings to capitalise their businesses and 52% are making no pension provision, threatening retirement security.
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Experiences of discrimination have doubled since 2016, with 68% of survey respondents reporting that they had experienced discrimination as a woman business owner. Key structural challenges identified include funding inequalities, with women-led businesses receiving just 2.8% of equity investment; caring commitments, with 29% starting up to work around care responsibilities; support mis-match, with 58% saying mainstream support does not meet their needs, and a digital divide with just 15% being able to access relevant funding, despite 78% wanting digital investment.
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Despite these conditions, aspirations for growth are evident, with 62% of respondents anticipating a degree of growth in turnover over the next 12 months, underlining the potential to boost the economic contribution presented by women-led businesses if they were able to access strategic, tailored business support.
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The WES Survey of Women in Enterprise 2025 was funded by the Scottish Government. It provides a practical resource for policymakers and the wider business support landscape to close the ongoing gender gap in enterprise participation. ​
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Read the full report:​
Watch our video highlighting key report findings
WES Survey of Women in Enterprise 2023
This report is based on insights gathered from a survey involving 238 respondents between January and April 2023. The survey explored gender-based inequalities, structural barriers, and the exceptional repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cost-of-business crisis. At the same time, the impact of other key socio-economic factors including net-zero, digital and technology, and pension provision were also investigated.
In this report we offer a range of key recommendations to improve women’s experiences of entrepreneurship in Scotland and to create the diverse and thriving business ecosystems which will benefit us all.
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We identify where existing business support can been developed through understanding the needs of women and where there is value in providing the choice of dedicated support for women which sits alongside and complements that which is already available.
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WES survey of Women in Business 2019
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WES survey of Women in Enterprise in Scotland 2017 - full survey report
Below, you'll find research that we've conducted, along with research from others which we think you'll find interesting.
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Supporting Women's Enterprise in the UK - the Economic Case
Developing and supporting women’s enterprise is proven to be critically important for overall business and economic prosperity. This report documents the increasing importance of women owned businesses to the UK economy and particularly the economies of the devolved nations, both in terms of increased contribution to Gross Value Add (GVA) and especially to employment.
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Women in Enterprise: the Untapped Potential
This report explores the importance of women’s entrepreneurship to the UK economy and the challenges women business owners face when starting up and growing their business, including the availability of business support, access to finance and childcare.
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Starting Over: Migrant Entrepreneurship in Scotland
This report finds that entrepreneurs who have moved to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK, Europe or the rest of the world have a positive and tangible impact on economies and communities across the country. The economic contribution they make to the Scottish economy is vast.​
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