New House of Commons report on female entrepreneurship highlights the work of Professor Ute Stephan ahead of the Autumn Budget.
Earlier this year, Professor Ute Stephan provided oral and written evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry on women's entrepreneurship.
The Committee's report, published today (22 October 2025) ahead of the Government's Autumn Budget, calls for an ambitious Female Entrepreneurship Strategy and recommends new measures to increase women's access to finance, childcare, mentoring and support across the UK.
The report cites Professor Stephan's evidence and draws on ideas introduced in her King's Business School and Global Institute for Women's Leadership research on women's enterprise, including the concept of the 'midlife mountain', the barriers that women face when launching or scaling ventures in mid-career. That phrase was first used in a joint Global Institute for Women's Leadership and Copenhagen Business School campaign earlier this year, which brought new visibility to the challenges experienced by women entrepreneurs in midlife.
Professor Stephan also welcomes the Committee's focus on issues she has highlighted in her work, including the under-recognised potential of social enterprises, the economic and social return on impact investment and the need for affordable childcare for self-employed parents.
It is encouraging to see Parliament take up ideas that directly address the structural barriers faced by women entrepreneurs. Recognising the economic and social value of social enterprise, and the reality of the 'midlife mountain', shows that evidence can inform policy change. We now need to see these recommendations translated into concrete action.
Professor Stephan, Professor of Entrepreneurship at King's Business School
The Women and Equalities Committee's full report, Female Entrepreneurship, is available on the UK Parliament website.
