Pathways Forward has launched its Pledge initiative with leading organisations committing to actionable steps aligned with the principles set out in the Pathways report, with their performance measures over a 12-month period.

AccelerateHER, CivTech, CodeBase, Deloitte, Eos Advisory, Scottish EDGE, and the Scottish National Investment Bank are the first members of Pathways Pledge, which is set to add more organisations over the months ahead.

Ana Stewart said: “The Pledge initiative is a key pillar of Pathways Forward. Our focus is on consolidating efforts to drive change through collaboration with each organisation contributing its share to achieve a greater collective impact. I’m encourage to have such a diverse group of organisations aligning with our objectives.”

The individual pledges are aimed to complement existing internal policies, and range from the capture and publication of enhanced gender data, gender diversity on selection panels, evidential increases in female participation rates, and the design of key programmes with integrated childcare.

“What we would also highlight”, continued Stewart, “is that this is not so much about implementing the 31 recommendations in the report, it’s about each player committing to positive actions that have an impact at a local level, driving behavioural change, influencing others including government to embrace the recommendations.”

Pathways Forward was launched last September to drive an action-led approach towards realising the principles outlined in the Scottish Government-commissioned Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship review, co-authored by Ana Stewart and Mark Logan, chief entrepreneurial adviser to the Scottish Government, published in February 2023.

Ana Stewart said: “The severe gender imbalance in entrepreneurship and investment persists because the causes are structural and deep-rooted. It requires engagement and action at a more profound level and across the entire landscape. We need to challenge the way we think about tackling this issue in order to drive meaningful change.”

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Last year, the Scottish Government accepted the findings of the Pathways report in their entirety, and subsequently launched a Pathways Pre-start Fund in September with 20 organisations now being supported including Dechomai, Digital Boost, Egg, Elevator, and Women’s Enterprise Scotland to action initial programmes across Scotland.

“In 2024, we’ll focus on women founders who are looking to grow their tech startups, and actively improve the representation of women mentors and facilitators in our network,” Yasmin Sulaiman, VP of partnerships for CodeBase. “By embedding this work in our day-to-day activity, we hope to impact long-term change in the tech industry and support an ecosystem where women founders can flourish.”