Last updated on December 18, 2026

The venture capital landscape continues to present significant barriers for women, despite decades of progress in workplace equality. As of early 2026, female founders receive a disproportionately small slice of global venture capital—a gap that represents not just an equity issue, but a substantial missed economic opportunity estimated at over $5 trillion globally.

The State of Funding

The latest data paints a clear picture of persistent funding gaps across stages, regions, and sectors. Global VC Funding by Gender (2024-2026) analysis shows that of the $289 billion invested globally in 2024:

  • Only 2.3% went to female-only founding teams ($6.7 billion)
  • A staggering 83.6% went to all-male founding teams ($241.9 billion)
  • The remaining 14.1% went to mixed-gender founding teams ($40.7 billion)

While these figures represent a modest improvement from 2023, the pace of change remains glacial. At current rates of improvement, it would take until approximately 2065 to reach gender parity in venture capital allocation.

Stage-by-Stage Analysis

The funding disparity becomes even more pronounced when examining later investment stages:

  • Seed Stage: Female-only teams received only 3.2% of capital
  • Series A: Female-only teams received 2.7% of capital
  • Series B: Female-only teams received 2.2% of capital
  • Series C+: Female-only teams received just 1.8% of capital

This progressive decline in representation highlights how initial disparities compound throughout the startup growth journey.

Deal Count vs. Capital Allocation

An important nuance emerges when comparing deal count with actual capital deployment:

  • Female-founded companies represented 6.4% of deals but received only 2.3% of capital
  • The average deal size for female-only founded companies was $5.2 million
  • The average deal size for male-only founded companies was $11.7 million

This suggests that even when women successfully secure funding, they typically receive smaller investments than their male counterparts.

Historical Trends (2019-2026)

While the headline statistics remain disappointing, subtle shifts suggest the beginning of structural change:

  • 2019: Female-founded companies received 2.8% of VC funding
  • 2020: This dropped to 2.3% during the pandemic
  • 2021: Recovery to 2.5% during the funding boom
  • 2022: Decline to 1.9% during market contraction
  • 2023: Modest recovery to 2.1%
  • 2024: Continued improvement to 2.3%

The high volatility of these figures over time suggests that gains for female founders remain fragile and are often the first to be sacrificed during market downturns—a phenomenon that WEF researchers have termed “dispensable diversity.”

Female Founders by Industry

The distribution of female founders varies dramatically across industries, with some sectors showing substantially higher representation than others. Understanding these patterns helps identify both areas of progress and sectors where gender gaps remain most entrenched.

Industries with Highest Female Founder Representation:

  • Education (34.2% female founders)
  • Healthcare (31.1%)
  • Retail (29.5%)

This data reveals two important patterns: first, female founders are significantly more represented in consumer-facing sectors and those aligned with traditionally feminised domains; second, even within sectors where women are better represented, they still receive a disproportionately small share of available funding relative to their presence.

The Technology Gap Challenge

The concentration of female founders in certain sectors wouldn’t necessarily represent a problem if all sectors received equal investment attention. However, as Founders Forum research highlights, the sectors with lowest female representation often command the highest valuation multiples and attract the most capital.

This creates a structural disadvantage for female founders, as ventures in AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise software typically raise larger rounds and achieve higher exit valuations than companies in sectors where women are better represented.

A Promising Future Ahead

Despite these challenges, several technology subsectors are showing encouraging growth in female leadership:

  • Climate Tech: Female representation among founders has increased from 15% to 25%
  • Fintech: Female representation among founders has increased from 20% to 30%

These statistics offer a glimmer of hope that app startup ideas and overcoming gender gaps in funding can be achieved.