In today’s temperamental economic climate, reputation is everything. That means PR isn’t just a “nice-to-have”; it’s critical – particularly for female founders and those looking to engage them.
With budgets tightening while competition grows stronger by the day, visibility is an asset that brands can’t afford to ignore anymore. For female-led ventures in particular, breaking through this noise takes more than just a great product or service… It requires trust, authority, a compelling story, and a loyal following: the results of a strategic PR campaign done well.
THE NEED HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER.
Stats from the 2023 Rose Review show that the number of female-founded businesses has more than doubled since 2018. That sounds like huge progress…
… until a peek behind the curtain reveals that the numbers paint a much tougher picture for those founders than their male counterparts.
Despite this boom in women taking the entrepreneurial plunge, their access to capital once they do is near-enough nonexistent. The Invest in Women Taskforce‘s data shows that in the first half of 2024 all-female teams received just 1.8% of equity investment… not even 2p of every £1 invested. What’s even more depressing is that this is down from 2.5% the year before.
In a world that pays lip-service to the idea that gender equality is on the horizon, it seems no-one is willing to put their money where their mouth is.
This reduction in capital investment isn’t just frustrating: it’s stifling female-founded businesses; the businesses that, by and large, are looking to make life better for women.
Thinktanks forecast that the fix will be getting more women holding the pursestrings, as research shows that female investors are more likely to back female founders. Yet female decision-makers still remain underrepresented at every stage of the investment funnel.
In the words of Debbie Wosskow, conditions for female founders hoping to raise investment in the UK are bleak and they’re “getting worse and not better”… but EV. wants to help change that.
THIS AFFECTS WOMEN ACROSS THE SCALE: ENTREPRENEURS, INVESTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND CUSTOMERS
HOW CAN PR HELP?
We believe PR is one of the few tools that can start to level the playing field. While not a magic wand, PR can support female-led brands to build credibility, win fans, spark movements, drive sales and turn heads, including those of future investors.
WOMEN SHOULD BE HEARD.
Visibility creates opportunity. When a female founder’s voice is amplified – when her story is told with impact and her brand is seen in the right places – it drives tangible commercial results. Increased sales, deeper customer loyalty, greater trust, tribes that buy in (and buy often…), all catch the attention of investors, collaborators and future customers alike.
This kind of visibility doesn’t happen by chance: it’s built with intention, starting by bringing in experts who know how to turn up the volume on all the right channels.
When women-led businesses are taken seriously – viewed as more than ‘a side hustle’ and not as ‘a risk’; but as high-potential ventures in their own right – everyone wins: if investment is secured, female-led businesses generate 35% higher returns than their male equivalents. Valuing female founders means increasing their access to capital, opportunities, and support.
It means truly recognising the commercial power of female-built brands, and backing them accordingly. The returns aren’t just felt by founders, their teams and their investors: the value inevitably trickles out into communities, industries, and the wider economy.
WOMEN SHOULD BE VALUED.
WOMEN SHOULD BE SUCCESSFUL.
But success doesn’t happen in isolation: it’s built through community and connections. Behind every thriving female founder is a tribe of loyal customers, supportive collaborators, strategic partners, and champions who believe in the mission as much as she does.
Women deserve ecosystems that buy from them, back them, and build with them. Whether it’s a growing client base, a trusted board of advisors or NEDs, or a community that amplifies their wins, success is only sustainable when women are supported and celebrated.