In March 2019, I published a review into the barriers facing female entrepreneurs in the UK. The government had asked me to examine why women were starting and scaling businesses at significantly lower rates than men—and what we could do about it.

The findings were stark. Less than 1% of venture capital funding was going to all-female founding teams. Women were half as likely as men to start a business. If we could close that gap—just reach parity with countries like Canada or Australia—the UK economy would gain £250 billion.

Five years on, I find myself asking: what’s actually changed?

The Progress We’ve Made

Some things have genuinely shifted. In the year following targeted interventions, the number of women-led businesses in the UK increased by 33%—156,000 new ventures. The largest growth came from women aged 16 to 24, exactly the pipeline we needed to build.

At NatWest, we launched a billion-pound fund for female entrepreneurs. I expected it to be drawn down over four years. It was fully committed within twelve months. So I doubled it to two billion.

We set up free accelerator hubs across the country with no targets for gender composition—just support for good businesses. Nearly half the entrepreneurs who came through were women. When you create the right environment, the demand is there.

The survival rates told their own story. Businesses in our accelerators went from 40% survival after two years to 80%. That’s not charity. That’s unlocking potential that was always there.

What Hasn’t Changed Enough

But I’m not writing to celebrate. Venture capital funding for female founders has crept up from 1% to perhaps 5%. That’s progress, but it’s still shocking. Investment committees remain predominantly male. They say they’re not seeing the pipeline. I saw the pipeline. We all saw it.

The barriers I identified in 2019 remain stubbornly intact: lack of access and awareness of financing, absence of relatable role models, and caring responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women’s shoulders.

The pandemic made that last point brutally clear. Our research showed 70% of female entrepreneurs found running their business more stressful during COVID, compared to 55% of men. Women took six out of ten days for caring responsibilities. Men took one out of ten. School closures didn’t affect everyone equally.

And the deeper problem persists: not enough young girls are even considering entrepreneurship as a career. The barriers are endemic in society. By the time traditional programmes reach them at 17 or 18, many have already opted out of pathways that would lead to business ownership.

Why This Still Matters

I’ve always believed that banks—and large institutions generally—are in service of the economy and in service of customers. We have to decide where we want the economy to grow, identify underrepresented areas, and direct resources accordingly.

Female entrepreneurship isn’t a niche concern. It’s a quarter-trillion pound question about whether we’re serious about economic growth. The women I met through the accelerators didn’t lack great business ideas. They lacked an environment designed to help them succeed.

There’s no magic wand here, no silver bullet. I said that in 2019 and it remains true. Closing the gap requires a multifaceted approach: targeted funding, ecosystem support, visible role models, and honest conversations about caring responsibilities. It requires institutions—banks, venture capital firms, government—to lean in rather than wait for the problem to solve itself.

Someone once asked me whether I was optimistic. I said I’m a glass-half-full person. I’ve seen what happens when you put the right support in place—businesses thrive, survival rates double, and more women step forward because they can see others succeeding.

But optimism isn’t the same as satisfaction. Five years after the Rose Review, we’ve proven that intervention works. Now we need to scale it. The potential is there. It always was.

It’s moving. But not fast enough.