Pathways Forward Announces Second Cohort of Pledge Partners and Female Founders Growth Summit

PATHWAYS Forward’s Second Cohort of Pledge Partners Announced

PATHWAYS Forward, a groundbreaking initiative focused on advancing gender diversity in entrepreneurship, has revealed its second cohort of Pledge partners. The new partners include Converge, The Open University in Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures, Social Investment Scotland, South of Scotland Enterprise, and the University of Strathclyde. These organizations have committed to taking concrete actions in line with the principles outlined in the Pathways report.

Ana Stewart, the driving force behind Pathways Forward, expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support from various sectors. She emphasized the importance of the Pledge partnership in driving tangible change within each organization. Stewart also extended her thanks to the existing Pledge partners and welcomed more like-minded organizations to join the movement.

The latest cohort joins a prestigious group of Pathways Pledge partners, including AccelerateHER, CivTech, CodeBase, Deloitte, and others. Each partner has made specific pledges that complement their existing policies, such as enhancing gender data collection, promoting gender diversity on selection panels, increasing female participation rates, and integrating childcare into key programs. These pledges are designed to be actionable, trackable, and transparent, with results shared and published.

In conjunction with these efforts, Pathways is gearing up to host the Female Founders Growth Summit on September 5th at the Royal Bank of Scotland Conference Centre in Edinburgh. The summit, in partnership with Female Founders Rise, aims to bring together female founders, investors, and industry experts to energize and support women-led growth businesses.

The summit’s headline sponsors include Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, and Scottish National Investment Bank, with support from British Business Bank, EY, and Eos. Community partners for the event include Dechomai and AccelerateHER, with former BBC broadcaster Dr Vanessa Collingridge set to host the proceedings.

Pathways Forward was launched in 2023 following the release of the Pathways report commissioned by the Scottish Government. An Advisory Group was appointed in February to work alongside Ana Stewart to advance the report’s recommendations and drive progress in gender diversity within entrepreneurship.