A third cohort of companies have become Pledge partners with Pathways Forward, committing to actionable steps aligned with the principles set out in the Pathways report for supporting women in business.

The latest cohort comprising EY, FDM Group, Elevator, Equity Gap, and the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) now join the likes of CodeBase, The Open University in Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Royal Bank of Scotland and many more as Pledge partners.

The Pathways Pledge was launched in February 2024, and now has over 20 organisations signed up to over 40 pledges which will be monitored and reported annually.

Pathways Forward itself was launched in September 2023, following the publication of the Scottish Government-commissioned Pathways: A New Approach For Women in Entrepreneurship report, highlighting and recommending solutions for the numerous obstacles that women in business face.

Pathways Forward chair Ana Stewart said: “We are rapidly building a strong foundation of forward-thinking organisations who share our commitment to both the recommendations laid out in the Pathways report, the underlying principles, and engendering effective change within their own businesses.”

The individual commitments of the Pledge are aimed to complement existing internal policies, and range from the capturing and analysis of recruitment data, showcasing female entrepreneurial role models, broadening awareness of national programmes in Scotland, and amplifying the profiles of women non-executive directors for female founders. The focus is on actionable and trackable pledges, with shared and published results.

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The news comes following last month’s inaugural Female Founders Growth Summit at the Royal Bank of Scotland Conference Centre in Edinburgh, where over 250 founders, business leaders, and senior executives gathered to hear from high-profile speakers and engage in panel sessions and networking.

“The summit was a great success,” Stewart commented. “We were able to explore many of the key challenges and opportunities for women in business and the investment backdrop, with attendees making valuable connections that will help to drive their own ventures.”