More than a third of the UK’s fastest-growing technology scale-ups have no board-level female representation – and yet some pioneering companies are showing a different path, backed by millions and led by women.
According to the recent report from global growth consultancy Think & Grow, though 94% of UK board members in high-growth tech companies believe that diverse boards are essential, women hold just 18% of board roles across the UK’s fastest-growing tech scale-ups, and 36% of those companies have no board-level female representation at all.
The discrepancy spotlights a growing tension between aspiration and execution.
The numbers
The report, Breaking and Remaking the Next Generation of High-impact Boards, points out that the scale-up ecosystem has yet to catch up with listed companies: by contrast, women make up 41% of board directors across FTSE 350 technology firms – more than double the level seen inside early-stage businesses.
The data goes further: women hold only 12% of CEO, founder or co-founder roles and 12% of chair roles at the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies – identical proportions to the larger listed technology firms. But in those larger firms other senior roles held by women (COO, CFO, senior independent director) are more prevalent – 72% of such firms have women in those senior board roles, and women hold 28% of senior board positions overall.
Perhaps most telling is the correlation between revenue size and board gender diversity.
Among the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies with more than €56.9 million (£50 million) annual revenue, female board representation averages 22%; among those below that threshold it is just 15%. At FTSE 350 tech firms with revenue above €569 million (£500 million) the figure rises to 42% versus 37% at firms below that level.
There are signs of progress: scale-ups founded within the last five years hold on average 25% female board representation, compared to just 10% among those founded more than five years ago – which suggests that newer companies may be more attuned to diversity.
As Jonathan Jeffries, CEO and co-founder of Think & Grow, says: “There is a clear correlation between diverse boards and strong corporate performance – yet many UK tech companies are failing to appoint board members with diverse backgrounds and expertise which risks curbing growth.”
The companies leading the charge
While the numbers paint a sobering picture of the UK tech scale-up ecosystem, a handful of UK start-ups led or co-led by women show how different models might bring both commercial success and leadership diversity.
Below we compare five such companies – drawn from EU-Startups coverage – and explore how their leadership, sector focus and capital raises stack up against the broader ecosystem’s diversity challenge.
SheMed (London-based HealthTech)
SheMed is a female-founded women’s healthcare platform in the UK. The company raised €43 million in October 2025 to expand its personalised healthcare platform and membership base (60,000+ members) in the UK. The company is boosting its technology and clinical infrastructure and is clearly positioned in the FemTech space – a niche that remains under-invested and under-governed in broader tech board statistics.
In the context of the Think & Grow report: SheMed’s significant funding raise and female-leadership status underscore how a company in a female-centric industry can combine scale ambitions and leadership diversity – offering a contrast with many scale-ups lacking board female representation.
Hormona (London-based HealthTech)
Another UK women’s health technology startup, Hormona raised €7.8 million in May 2025 to build its at-home hormone-tracking platform using AI. Again, this is a female-led business in the FemTech field – showing that investment is flowing into female-leader ventures even as board representation overall lags.
Fit Collective (London-based FashionTech)
Fit Collective is a fashion-technology startup founded by Savile Row-trained designer Phoebe Gormley (solo female Founder). In November 2025 the company raised €3.4 million, reportedly the UK’s largest ever round by a solo female founder.
While not strictly a tech scale-up in the sense of enterprise or DeepTech, it sits at the intersection of technology (AI, fit analytics), entrepreneurship and female leadership. Fit Collective’s success further underscores that female-led startups can attract significant investment rounds when the proposition is strong and differentiated.
Unfabled (London-based eCommerce/Health Retail)
Founded “by women for women“, Unfabled raised €3 million in October 2025 to fuel its community-driven health and wellness retail platform. The company taps into curated and data-backed shopping tailored to women’s health needs.
This is another standout in the FemTech and wellness commerce space, operating in a way that centres on community-led innovation – a model often missing in the broader tech ecosystem but vital for inclusivity and broader consumer representation.
Atomik AM (Liverpool-based Advanced Manufacturing / Deep Tech)
Atomik AM, founded in 2022 by Professor Kate Black, is an advanced manufacturing business focused on sustainable materials and patented technologies for turnkey manufacturing processes. It raised €713k in May 2025 from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.
This example is particularly interesting: an industrial/engineering-tech firm with female leadership in a sector that traditionally sees fewer women. It suggests that diversity at founding level can extend beyond the consumer or women’s health spaces into DeepTech.
How do these examples compare with the broader ecosystem findings?
The Think & Grow data suggest that many fast-growing tech companies are missing the opportunity that board gender diversity offers – boards with higher female representation are correlated with stronger performance, broader perspectives and improved culture.
The fact that newer scale-ups (founded within the last five years) have on average 25% female board representation (versus 10% for older ones) is encouraging. However, 18% female board representation across the fastest-growing tech scale-ups is still very low.
In contrast, the five UK start-ups above share a few common threads: female leadership (founder/CEO), sector relevance (HealthTech, FashionTech, DeepTech), and recent capital raises.
They show that female-led companies can and are scaling, attracting investment, and driving innovation. But board representation is only part of the picture: the report highlights that boards must go beyond token female presence to integrate women in leadership roles (CEO, chair, COO, CFO) and across governance structures to drive impact.
One of the report’s key messages is that enhancing diversity is not just a social responsibility – it’s likely a strategic advantage. In the words of Jeffries: ““Most senior decision makers at UK tech companies recognise the importance of board-level diversity but many scale-up companies are failing to leverage the opportunities this brings.
“Enhancing diversity is not just a social responsibility for organisations, it’s a strategic advantage which can improve problem solving, reduce risk and bring in new perspectives to help identify challenges and opportunities to gain a competitive edge.”
By showcasing female-led startups that are already performing – SheMed scaling membership and clinical infrastructure; Hormona entering hormone-tracking; Fit Collective capturing funding as a solo female founder; Unfabled blending community and commerce; Atomik AM innovating in advanced manufacturing – we can see practical illustrations of what strong leadership diversity looks like in action.
Key take-aways for founders, investors and boards
The data show that female board representation lags in many scale-ups, and there is a revenue-linked uplift in diversity at larger firms. Scale-ups therefore need to embed diverse governance earlier.
These five start-ups demonstrate that female leadership is compatible with scaling and investment: this undermines any notion that board diversity is incompatible with growth.
Investors should recognise that backing female-led companies is not a “diversity add-on” but part of accessing under-served markets, novel business models, and leadership perspectives.
Founders seeking board composition should consider diversity from day one – as Jeffries states: “Founders who prioritise inclusion early can build boards that see around corners, solve problems faster, and understand a broader range of markets and people.”
Boards and governance structures in scale-ups should reflect the learning from larger firms: that female representation in senior roles (COO, CFO, senior independent director) matters alongside the CEO and chair.
In sum: the headline figures are stark – 36% of the fastest-growing UK tech scale-ups have no women at board level; only 18% of board seats are held by women. But the examples of SheMed, Hormona, Fit Collective, Unfabled and Atomik AM show that female-led tech businesses are already making waves.
The challenge for the broader ecosystem is turning those individual successes into systemic norms – requiring a concerted push from founders, boards, investors and policy alike.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/11/the-gender-gap-in-the-uk-tech-scene-and-the-companies-working-to-change-it/
