The University of Edinburgh has joined a new cohort of partners committed to supporting women entrepreneurs through the Pathways Pledge.
The Pathways Pledge asks organisations to address women’s ‘extreme under-participation’ in Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, as uncovered by a 2023 Scottish Government report.
The ‘Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship’ report, written by Scotland’s current Chief Entrepreneur Ana Stewart and Mark Logan, who previously held the role, found that just 2% of capital investment in Scotland goes to female-led companies, for a raft of reasons including society’s underlying sexism. The Pathways Forward programme was founded in response.
In the Pathways Pledge, organisations choose and implement their own actions. The University of Edinburgh has committed to two main undertakings:
The University joins Connect Three, Geovation Scotland, BGF, Mint Ventures and Firstport in the fifth cohort of 32 organisations who have pledged so far.
Dr Andrea Taylor, CEO of Edinburgh Innovations (EI), said:
Ensuring diversity amongst staff and student company founders is a key aim for us, and the Pathways report was a keen reminder of how far we still have to go as a society.
EI runs Power Her Up, a programme which supports women students to start and grow their business, and our in-house venture investment team, Old College Capital, is a signatory to the Investing in Women programme.
We have roughly 50% of women founders among students but far less amongst staff. Improving data collection and foregrounding EDI practices is a first step in addressing this, and we will do more. ”
Dr Catherine Martin, Vice-Principal Corporate Services (Investment) at the University of Edinburgh said:
The Ana Stewart Pathways report identified obstacles to women’s entrepreneurship including logistical constraints, feelings of exclusion and the absence of clearly defined pathways and networks.
Our newly-launched Innovation Career Pathway seeks to address this by formalising innovation and entrepreneurship career progression alongside research and teaching in a clearly defined framework.
Enabling better data collection and sharing best EDI practice through the Pathways Pledge will further support us in our goal of advancing gender equality. ”
Old College Capital, the University's in-house venture investment team, is also a signatory to the British Business Bank's Investing in Women code, which includes pledging to increase transparency of data.
Ana Stewart, Founder of Pathways Forward, said:
The Pledge initiative is a key pillar of Pathways Forward and we’re motivated to see its continued growth. Our focus is on consolidating efforts across the ecosystem to drive change through collaboration with each organisation contributing its share to achieve a greater collective impact.
I’m encouraged to have such a diverse group of organisations from all sectors continuing to align with our objectives. ”
Pathways Forward has announced that the 2025 Female Founders Growth Summit will take place at the RBS Gogarburn conference centre in Edinburgh on 16th September, with Pathways partnering with Female Founders Rise, Buy Women Built, the ScaleUp Institute, and SuperScalers.
Ana Stewart added:
This year’s Female Founders Growth Summit will deliver a unique combination of inspiring keynotes, dedicated workshops, impact networking with peers, and curated connections with investors. By collaborating with organisations across the UK, we’re able to ensure attendees leave the summit feeling motivated and armed with practical, actionable takeaways to drive their own sustainable and accelerated business growth. ”
Picture caption: Charlotte Waugh, Edinburgh Innovations' Enterprise and Innovation Programme Lead (far left); Ana Stewart (second left), EI's Constanza Moreno Sanchez Ornelas (back row, third left), Andrew Parfery of UoE's Venture Builder Incubator (back row, second from right)
Request to join the Female Founders Growth Summit
