Only about one in five tech companies across Europe created between 2020 and 2025 included at least one woman founder, according to the European Commission’s The Gender Investment Gap report.
Even when adjusting for this disparity, companies with female founders also received less investment than firms with male founders.
The highest levels of gender diversity were found in Latvia, at 27%, Italy, at 25.9 %, and Portugal, at 25.2%. These rates represent the proportion of companies with at least one female founder.
In contrast, countries such as the Czech Republic (9%) and Hungary (14.4%) remain well below the European average (19.3%).
Equal participation by women entrepreneurs could increase EU GDP by approximately €600 billion, with countries like Poland seeing growth of 1.6% and the Netherlands up to 5.5% by 2040, according to the 2025 Frontier Economics study.
The gender investment gap refers to systematic disparities between women and men in accessing venture capital and participating in investment decision-making.
Among European small and medium-sized enterprises applying for bank loans, female-owned firms report loan-approval rates about five percentage points lower than male-owned firms. That’s even after controlling for age, size, and sector, according to the European Investment Bank.
Gender disparities also extend to capital ownership and investment behaviour, as data shows women are investing less in retail assets.
Female retail investors currently control about €5.7 trillion in Europe, a figure projected to rise to €9.8 trillion by 2030. If women invested on a parity basis with men, Europe could mobilise an additional €2 to €3 trillion in private investable assets.
“These findings point to an EU-wide economic shortfall well into the hundreds of billions of euros annually – capital that could otherwise be fuelling innovation, employment, green – and digital transitions,” the EC report stated.
What is behind this gender gap?
The gender investment gap has been put down to differences in risk appetite between men and women, as well as societal expectations and financial education.
Historically, entrepreneurship and venture finance have been male-coded domains associated with risk-taking, assertiveness, and individualism.
Decision-making bodies in venture capital and private equity remain male-dominated, reinforcing existing investment patterns.
Societal expectations around women’s caregiving roles and work-life balance continue to influence their access to entrepreneurial networks and capital.
According to the European Commission’s report, even in societies perceived as egalitarian, such as Nordic countries, the assumption that gender equality has already been achieved “can itself act as a barrier – masking ongoing structural biases”.
Across Europe, women also face a “double exclusion” of gender and geography.
European venture capital is mainly based in hubs in London, Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm, which leaves founders in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe structurally disadvantaged.