Why Do Women Entrepreneurs Still Need a Man to Get Funded?

A brilliant woman, armed with an innovative business idea, a solid plan, and years of expertise, walks into an investor meeting.?

She pitches passionately, proving the market demand and potential for growth. The investors nod, ask a few questions, and then say, “We love this! But do you have a male co-founder?”

This isn’t a one-off incident. It’s an everyday reality for thousands of women entrepreneurs worldwide. Despite progress in gender equality, funding for women-led startups remains alarmingly low.?

Women-founded startups receive less than 2% of venture capital funding globally. A study by Harvard Business Review found that investors ask men about their potential for success but question women on how they’ll avoid failure. When a startup is led by a woman and a man, it’s more likely to receive funding than if it’s led by a woman alone.?

Studies also show that women-led businesses outperform male-led ones in terms of revenue, yet investors hesitate to bet on them. This bias is deep-rooted, systemic, and needs to be challenged.

Even some of the most successful women in business faced this struggle. Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble, struggled to raise funds because investors doubted a female-led dating app could succeed. She proved them wrong, taking Bumble public in 2021.?

Sarah Blakely, the billionaire founder of Spanx, built her empire without external funding because male investors simply didn’t "get" her idea. Katrina Lake, the founder of Stitch Fix, faced skepticism from male investors who doubted a woman-led fashion-tech company could scale. She became the youngest woman ever to take a company public in 2017. These are exceptional women who fought through barriers. But not everyone gets that chance.

I strongly believe women do not need a man to validate their ideas. Talent, intelligence, and hard work should be enough—not gender. The investment world needs to stop looking for a "male stamp of approval" before funding women-led businesses. If we truly believe in diversity, we must back it with action.?

Investors must check their bias and actively fund more women entrepreneurs based on merit. We need more women in investment roles because only 12% of decision-makers in venture capital are women.

Have you or someone you know faced these challenges? Let’s start a conversation. Drop a comment, let's talk.