Female Founders Monitor 2025

Only 19% of startup founders in Germany are women - and the proportion has actually fallen recently. The Female Founders Monitor 2025 sheds light on the causes and shows how more women can be attracted to entrepreneurship.

Gütersloh, April 2, 2025 - A new study by the Startup Association on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung shows that the low proportion of women among startup founders has its origins at a young age. While two thirds of male founders consider starting a business while they are still young or at university, the proportion of women is significantly lower at 43%. Social expectations and traditional role models influence career decisions at an early stage - for example, 60 percent of female students primarily aim for a secure job, while this aspect plays an important role for only 32 percent of male students.

Targeted measures are needed from politicians, investors and the start-up scene to better support female founders.

Julia Scheerer, economic expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung

Professional experience as the key to founding a company

While men often plan to enter the startup world during their studies, many women only decide to become self-employed later. A third of female founders make the decision in the first few years of their career, another quarter only after several years in the job. "This shows that it is not due to a lack of interest, but to the framework conditions. Women draw their motivation to start a business more from professional experience and the desire to bring about social change," explains Jennifer Eschweiler, start-up expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Cultural change starts in the mind

Many female founders see the low proportion of women in the start-up scene as a problem - 87% of them see the gender gap as a challenge, while only 50% of male founders see it in a similar light. In mixed teams, however, men's awareness of the problem rises to 64 percent. This shows how important more diverse networks are to initiate change.

Germany cannot afford to do without the potential of women. They are our country's greatest hidden reserve.

Verena Pausder, Chairwoman of the Startup Association

The compatibility of family and entrepreneurship remains a key issue. As many founders also start a family at a similar stage in their lives, care work plays a major role. 81% of female founders and 60% of male founders see better compatibility as the most important lever for increasing the proportion of women in the startup world.

More investment for female founders - but not yet equal distribution

The trend in financing is positive: since 2017, the number of VC investments in startups with female founders has almost doubled and the capital invested has even quadrupled. Nevertheless, 91% of all venture capital still goes to all-male teams. "There is still enormous potential here," says Julia Scheerer, economic expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. "Targeted measures are needed from politicians, investors and the start-up scene to better support female founders. Because more female founders mean more innovation - and that's exactly what we need for the future."

The full study can be viewed on the Startupverband website here