Co-Founders: Why female representation is crucial to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs
Embarking on her career in product design almost twenty years ago, Emma Duggan did not see product development as a realistic career path as there were very few women entrepreneurs at the time. Fast forward to 2023 and Emma is now a co-founder of an all-female team that has secured Techstart funding to develop a care scheduler to support loved ones living with dementia.
In inspiring the next generation of female entrepreneurs, strong role models and diverse representation are necessary to shatter societal inhibitions, empower young women and foster innovation. According to The Gender Index, active female-led companies now make up 17.3% of all UK companies in 2022/23. This has increased 0.5% from 16.8% in 2021/22 but notably, remains three and a half times smaller than the 2.7million male-led companies.
Despite the significant progress made in gender equality, societal inhibitions and stereotypes regarding women’s capabilities persist. By promoting and celebrating successful women entrepreneurs, we can challenge these perceptions and demonstrate that gender should never hinder one’s ambitions. Female representation helps dispel the notion that entrepreneurship is mostly a male domain and encourages young women to embrace their aspirations in this field.
Northern Ireland continues to be the nation with the lowest share of female-led companies at 13.6%, compared to the UK average of 17.3% but promisingly the proportion of female-led companies accessing external capital in 2022/23 was highest in Northern Ireland at 27.6% compared to the UK average of 23.4%, according to The Gender Index. With positive work being done to raise the profile of female entrepreneurs and make it a more realistic career path for women, it is encouraging to see to see that across the UK, the proportion of female-led companies accessing all forms of external capital is higher in the younger age groups (Generation Z and Millennials), meaning the next generations are developing their projects quicker and accessing vital funding more than ever before.
Co-Founders at Catalyst is one of multiple programmes across Northern Ireland designed to empower more female entrepreneurs and support diversity in the start-up industry. It brings together a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, allowing participants to meet potential collaborators and create a start-up in a safe, risk free environment. At the programme’s core, Co-Founders is about connecting the community, regardless of background, to develop new ideas and solutions.
Emma said: “Looking back, the role models were mostly men like Steve Jobs, James Dyson or Dieter Rams and I didn’t think of this career as a realistic option as I couldn’t see myself as the next Steve Jobs.”
Moving on to study a master’s in Communications, Advertising and Marketing at Ulster University, Emma then went on to work developing digital services in the tourism and energy sectors before moving to her current role as UX Researcher in the cyber security company, Rapid7.
“When I discovered that the role of User Experience was to solve real problems for real people – the users of digital tools and service - I knew that was what I wanted to focus on and specialise as a User Researcher,” Emma said.
“On the Co-Founders Programme, our team focussed on solving the complex problems of coordinating care among family and friends for people living with dementia” Primarily aiming to support and help informal carers such as family and friends of the patient, Emma and her co-founders also won one of the £10k POC awards at Catalyst’s Co-Founders Pitch Night in June 2023.
“With a love for innovation and coming up with new ideas to solve problems, I was drawn to the Catalyst Co-Founders programme last year knowing I could bring my twenty years of experience to a passion project whilst still working full-time at my current job.”
“The way the Co-Founders programme is structured allows participants with full time jobs to take part and flexibly work around their schedule. In order to encourage more women into entrepreneurship, programmes such as these need to be available and adaptable to fit into existing schedules. Very few people are in the privileged position to take off on an entrepreneurial journey without the backup of their current job to help support them and their families. I found the Co-Founders programme at Catalyst extremely well organised and flexible to work with. It has a clear structure that allows you to bring your project from an idea to reality, working at the pace at which your business is developing,” added Emma.
Giving advice for future female entrepreneurs, Emma said: “Programmes such as Co-Founders are helping women to fulfil their potential and develop ideas that will bring value to the communities in which they live. In showcasing female entrepreneurs we can help future generations of women to identify with female role models who have brought their ideas to life.
It is important to showcase female entrepreneurs to enable the formation of a supportive community for aspiring women in entrepreneurship. These role models provide mentorship, guidance and encouragement. By sharing their experiences, challenges and strategies for success such as Emma has, female business leaders can teach and inspire the next generation. This support network plays an essential role in nurturing budding female entrepreneurs, providing them with the confidence and knowledge necessary to navigate the business world.
Catalyst’s Co-Founder is a one-night-a-week programme for anyone who wants to be a co-founder in a start-up team and has the desire to explore the viability of a business idea.
The Co-Founders programme for 2024 will close for applications on Thursday 30th November.