GEM report finds women lead in high-potential startups but fall behind at scale

A new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report based on 150,799 adults across 48 economies finds women are active in innovation, exports and job-oriented entrepreneurship, but their presence drops sharply as businesses mature. The findings point to a major gap in survival and scale, not just startup entry.

Why it matters: - The report shows women are participating in high-potential entrepreneurship, but too few are making it to the established-business stage. - That gap affects innovation, job creation, export growth and access to capital across economies. - The findings shift attention from startup entry alone to survival, scale and exit.

What happened: - The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor released its 2025/2026 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, How Metrics Shape the Narrative. - The report is based on the 2025 GEM Adult Population Survey of 150,799 adults across 48 economies. - GEM said the report introduces a composite high-potential index covering product and process innovation, export intensity and job-creation expectations. - The report is available from 8 October 2026. - GEM will host a launch webinar on 15 October 2026. - Register for the webinar

The details: - Globally, 12% of women surveyed were running new businesses in 2025, compared with 14% of men. - A little over half of new businesses qualified as high-potential ventures. - Women led about 40% of those high-potential businesses. - Women outpaced men in five countries across income levels: Chile, El Salvador, India, Israel and Oman. - Women reported a 6.0% rate of high-potential early-stage activity, compared with 0.1% at the established-business stage. - GEM said that equals a 98% lower rate at the established stage. - The average women-to-men ratio in established business ownership was 0.69 in 2025, the widest gender gap across the entrepreneurial life-cycle stages. - Women represented 44% of entrepreneurs emphasizing digitalization. - Women represented 43% of those reporting AI innovation. - Women represented 42% of those reporting product and process innovation. - Women represented about 40% of those targeting international markets. - Women accounted for 33% of entrepreneurs expecting to create 20 or more jobs within five years. - Women accounted for 37% of entrepreneurs expecting more than 25% of revenue from exports. - In 2025, 6.7% of women reported recent business investment, compared with 9.2% of men. - Women invested roughly one-third less capital on average. - About 70% of informal investment globally went to men entrepreneurs. - Women were 55% more likely than men to cite family or personal circumstances as a reason for business exit, at 20% versus 13%. - The report’s authors are Amanda Elam, Mahsa Samsami, Fatima Boutaleb, Maya Dougoug, Ulrike Guelich, Natanya Meyer and Mónica Río Nevado de Zelaya.

Between the lines: - The report suggests the main challenge is not just getting women into entrepreneurship, but keeping high-potential ventures alive long enough to scale. - Lower investment rates and a male tilt in informal capital may help explain why fewer women reach the established stage. - Caregiving and personal circumstances remain a bigger drag on women’s business continuity than on men’s. - The strong female share in digitalization and AI signals that access to growth sectors is possible, but retention across the business lifecycle remains uneven.

What’s next: - GEM says the report calls for six policy and practice shifts: measure what matters; support survival and scale, not only startups; expand women’s access to digital and innovation ecosystems; invest in women’s investment networks; open more sectors to high-potential entry; and address caregiving challenges directly. - The launch webinar is expected to expand on the report’s implications for women’s entrepreneurship, survival and scale.

The bottom line: - Women are present in high-potential entrepreneurship, but the pipeline narrows sharply before businesses become established. The next policy fight is less about entry and more about staying power.