PRESS RELEASE : Chancellor: “Everyone can do something for women’s equality” [September 2024]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 18 September 2024.

Rachel Reeves leads government backing of the Invest in Women Taskforce, which aims to create one of the world’s largest investment funding pools aimed solely at female founders.

Female business founders to get the Chancellor’s backing as Rachel Reeves puts her weight behind the Invest in Women Taskforce – which aims to create one of the world’s largest investment funding pools for female founders – as she pushes forwards the government’s mission to grow the economy.

The Invest in Women Taskforce is the successor to the Rose Review, an independent review of female entrepreneurship which found that a £250 billion boost could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled their businesses at the same rate as men.

Support for women and their contribution to the economy is a personal priority for Reeves as Britain’s first female Chancellor. The core aim of the Taskforce is to establish a funding pool of more than £250 million for female-founded businesses through private capital, making it one of the world’s largest investment funding pools aimed solely at female founders. As well as backing the Invest in Women Taskforce, the Chancellor will take an active role in steering its priorities and objectives as well as attending Taskforce meetings and events.

To mark this and celebrate the key role played by female business leaders in all parts of the economy, on International Equal Pay Day, the Chancellor – in partnership with women’s rights charity the Fawcett Society – is hosting a reception in No.11 Downing Street this evening.

At the evening reception, Chancellor Reeves will convene a group of female business leaders from across Britain’s foremost growth industries, such as financial services and technology as well as the creative sector.

She will set out their importance to the government’s number one priority mission for growth and champion their part in its delivery. She also will set out her agenda for women in the economy, vowing to improve the economic opportunities available to women and close the gender pay gap once and for all. That includes strengthening rights at work and investing in childcare.

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

It is a huge responsibility to sit in the Treasury as the first female Chancellor of the Exchequer and be able to use my position to improve life for women across the UK – one that I don’t take lightly.

That includes ending the gender pay gap, strengthening rights at work and investing in childcare. And by backing the Invest in Women Taskforce we can establish one of the world’s largest dedicated investment funding pools for female-powered businesses, helping grow our economy.

This event gathers together some very powerful women but the truth is, everyone can do something for women’s equality – whether that’s supporting the women and girls in their lives with their ambitions or making their workplace a fairer playing field.

With 5.5 million businesses driving the UK economy, entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of the UK’s economic growth. While women make up over 50% of the population, they represent only 21% of business owners, with less than 6% of active equity backed companies founded by women. The Invest in Women Taskforce, alongside other government initiatives including the Women in Finance Charter which encourages female representation in financial services, aims to change this.

The event comes ahead of the International Investment Summit next month, at which the Chancellor is working to ensure there is strong female representation both in terms of agenda and attendance.

The Department for Business and Trade has also published its annual Investing in Women Code report today, which finds that venture capital fund managers who have signed up to the Code are more likely to invest in female founders.

The report also shows that the 250 signatories of the Code are leading the way in addressing the finance gap between male and female entrepreneurs. 32% of all venture capital deals made by Investing in Women Code signatories were in female-founded companies last year, compared to the market average of 28%, revealed in the latest report published today. This is the fourth year in a row that Code signatories have outperformed the wider market.