Women represent over 50% of the population, yet start-ups run by all women-founders in Australia are 12% of all start-ups and only a further 15% of Australian start-ups have at least one female founder.
These statistics are not representative of the talent or capability of Australian women, but have more to do with opportunity.
Microsoft recognizes that Australian women make fantastic founders as evidenced by the success of Natalie Nyguen (Hyper-Anna), Roz Harvey (The Yield) and Tania Yuki (Shareablee) and we are determined to ensure more women have the best opportunity to follow their dreams and build their tech start-ups.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower ever person and every organization on the planet to achieve more and programs like SheStarts are in complete alignment to that mission. Start-up ecosystems must embrace diversity and ensure they are open to and representative of the entire community.
We are thrilled to partner with BlueChilli on the SheStarts program and look forward to working with the many inspiring and talented women entrepreneurs that we know can benefit from the support, mentoring and exposure provided by this program.