We’re proud to join a national movement tackling the gender gap in entrepreneurship. Through bold action, inclusive events and better data, we’re building a startup ecosystem where women founders thrive. This is our pledge to change the path—for good.
At the University of Edinburgh, we are proud to join the Pathways Pledge—a national movement aimed at addressing the deep-rooted gender imbalance in entrepreneurship. In collaboration with leading partners across Scotland’s startup ecosystem, we are committing to meaningful, measurable action that supports and empowers women to thrive as entrepreneurs.
In February 2023, the Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship report—authored by Ana Stewart and Mark Logan—shone a spotlight on a critical issue: although women make up over half of Scotland’s population, they represent only one in five entrepreneurs and receive just 2% of institutional investment.
The report identified key barriers, including:
In response, the Scottish Government committed £17.5 million to drive systemic change across the startup economy. A cornerstone of this commitment is the Pathways Forward programme, launched in September 2023 to catalyse action through collaboration, investment and practical support. At its heart is the Pathways Pledge—a call to action for organisations to create lasting, structural change for women in entrepreneurship.
By joining the Pathways Pledge, the University of Edinburgh is proud to be part of a growing coalition that includes organisations such as CodeBase, AccelerateHER, Scottish EDGE and The Open University
We’re joining a cohort to work collaborative on this project. Our cohort: women angel investment group: Mint Ventures, equity investor: BGF, FirstPort who offer social enterprise support in Scotland, Connect Three, a certified B Corp supporting healthy startups and businesses grow and Geovation Scotland, the only support organisation specifically created for land, property and location early stage startups in Scotland.
As the commercialisation service of the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Innovations is proud to lead on the Pathways Pledge and take tangible steps to transform the landscape for future women founders.
Strengthening data collection - We are working across all enterprise groups to create a consistent, reliable approach to gender-disaggregated data collection. Regular internal working group meetings will ensure progress is tracked and shared. We are also collaborating with other institutions to identify shared challenges and solutions, building a stronger evidence base for future action.
Entrepreneurship continues to be a male-dominated field—across sectors and within academia. At the University of Edinburgh, we’re changing that. Programmes like Power Her Up have already supported nearly 900 women students and recent graduates in building their entrepreneurial skills and confidence. In 2024/25 alone, 55% of our student founders identified as women, and we awarded £24,000 in grant funding to women-led ventures in the Power Her Up cohort. The Investment team are a signatory of the Investing in Women Code, a commitment to support the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the UK by improving female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance. The
The Pathways Pledge allows us to take this further—embedding equity into our structures, stories and systems.
This pledge is not just a promise. It’s a plan. Over the next 12 months, we will:
By working together—with students, staff, ecosystem partners and policymakers—we can build a startup landscape where every woman with a bold idea has the support, resources and community to bring it to life.
This is a key moment in our Pathways journey and we are keen to share the progress we have made so far. This is a quick-reference guide and action tool. Use the checklists to audit your current practice, fill in the commitment sections in your own time and work through it with your team. The goal is not perfection, it is one incremental shift at a time.
It is a space to connect, collaborate and keep up the momentum towards greater equity in entrepreneurial spaces. While rooted in gender equity, the group welcomes anyone committed to making entrepreneurship more inclusive for all. Share what you’re building, celebrate progress, discuss challenges openly and connect with like-minded peers to turn ideas into action.
Join the Inclusive Enterprise Collective Network now
The Pathways Pledge is about collective action. Whether you’re a student, founder, mentor or ally, we invite you to engage and share in our journey to a more inclusive entrepreneurial future.
This article was published on
