Did you know that the CEO of Buzzmove is a woman? A woman who not only started her own company, but who also chose to start a technology-based company, which makes her one of the few women in the UK to choose a career path in technology.

After a horrible moving experience, Becky decided to change the way the removals industry worked so that no one would have to experience that stress again. With only a very basic technology background, she created her own company and is now changing the face of moving home for everyone.

This week Becky was invited to take part in a panel discussion regarding women working in tech and startups. The panel were asked questions about whether there are more barriers for women in tech and startups and whether the view we have on failure in Britain prevents even more women from believing in their ideas and starting their own companies.

We think these are important questions to raise awareness around to try and encourage more women to start their own companies, and that’s why this blog post will focus on discussing these questions.

Are there more barriers for women in tech and startups?

According to a survey made by RBS, 42% of women were prevented from starting a business because of their fear of failing and they were less likely to apply for funding for their businesses than men. With those statistics, it’s no shock that the survey also revealed that men are twice as likely to start a business in the UK than women.

There are many reasons as to why we see less women in tech and startups. As we all know, historically women were the ones who stayed home with the children while the men were working and earning money, and even though this no longer is the case some of these values still live on in today’s society.

Starting your own company requires a lot of hard work and long hours in the office, which means that you really have to be dedicated to what you do and this can be problematic for a woman with a family. Women who choose their career before their family and their children often receive a lot of criticism, and often the thought of this can be enough to prevent women from even considering starting their own business.

Another reason why women might not want to go into tech and startups could be because these industries generally are male dominated. Because of this, women might feel out of place and not part of the ‘gang’ which is detrimental in any work environment. This could also be a disadvantage when it comes to applying for funding and networking, which are both important for startups. The fact that there are more men in tech and startups also leaves women with less female role models, which naturally means that women are less likely to aspire to become entrepreneurs when they don’t see it as a clear career option.

It has also been suggested that women are less ambitious than men and that they don’t try as hard to achieve what they want. This could also be seen in the way that women tend to be more self-critical than men, as many women don’t have the same belief in their ability to do something as most men do. Therefore men dare to do more, such as taking the risk and starting their own company, confident that their idea will work.

Does the view on failure in Britain prevent even more women from starting their own business?

The view on failure is problematic; no one wants to fail because failure is not something that is accepted by our society. Growing up in today’s society we are told we can do anything and that nothing is impossible and failure is not something that ever is encouraged. Because of this it is hard to all of a sudden change the mind set and think, ‘failure might not be the end of the world for a startup, and it might even lead me to success in my next business.’

With women being more self-critical it seems like a natural link for them to also be more worried about failing, and therefore also less likely to start their own business because of this fear.

What has to be done to get more women to choose a career path in tech and startups?

•  We need to take away the blame that society puts on women who choose both a career and a family.
•  Female entrepreneurs and women in tech need to be shown in the media so that young girls/women have female role models to look up to.
•  Womens’ self esteem has to be improved, and this would ideally be done from an early stage in schools.
•  ‘Failure stories’ need to be more accessible. If we open up the idea that failure doesn’t have to be the end of the world by highlighting business that didn’t work, but showing that the person behind the business is fine today and perhaps succeeded with her second startup.

What are your opinions on women in startups and tech? Do you agree or disagree with the view that there are barriers for women in these industries? And what do you think needs to be done?

Sources: Why Women Continue to Lag Behind Men In The Startup Community – and What We Can Do About It
Picture source: Wayra UK