International Women’s Day 2026: Tech And Startups By Women Who Are Addressing Women’s Issues, Pt 2

In part 1, we spoke about funding barriers, bias in AI and the need for real workplace backing for women in tech.

Founders described receiving less than 2% of UK venture capital, AI leaders spoke about exclusion in development teams, and executives said policies mean little without day to day support.

In 2025, all women founding teams accounted for 5.6% of global venture capital deals and received just 1.4% of total funding, according to more data, this time from Aurora Tech Awards. To say that the gap is due to a lack of ideas would simply be untrue. It is about who gets seen, backed and talked about.

The Aurora Tech Award was set up in response to this imbalance. Its organisers describe it clearly: “The Aurora Tech Award is a global initiative designed to tackle one of the biggest structural challenges facing women in tech: access to funding.” That challenge is structural. It sits in networks, investor habits and who is introduced into the right rooms.

Powered by inDrive, Aurora works across emerging markets, where access to capital can be even tighter. The programme connects high potential women led startups to more than 40 venture capital firms across Latin America, Africa, MENA and South Asia. That reach matters. Visibility matters.

What Does Real Celebration Look Like?

Celebration is not a panel or social media post on International Women’s Day. It is funding, introductions and serious investor feedback beyond the day. Organisations like Aurora offer non dilutive funding, structured feedback and access to investors aligned with each founder’s stage and sector. It also builds a peer network of women entrepreneurs who understand the pressures of scaling a business.

Since 2021, the award has attracted applications from founders in 127 countries. That scale sends a message. Women are building in AI, fintech, healthtech and sustainability. They are writing code and orchestrating end to end systems powered by AI agents.

The organisers said it well. They say, “Aurora was created to help close this gap by giving women founders access to the capital, investor networks and visibility they need to scale their businesses.” Celebrating women means putting money, policies and networks behind them. Anything less is just branding.

With International Women’s Day approaching on Sunday, new data looks at other issues women face, such as midlife health, education access and fraud…

Are Employers Doing Enough On Midlife Women’s Health?

Back in the workplace, new research from LiveCareer UK found that 91% of women would be more likely to stay with an employer that actively supports midlife health needs, which speaks to another issue women face. Its Midlife Divide Report found that 58% ranked flexible schedules as the most helpful change, 56% chose paid leave or mental health days, and 54% wanted more women in leadership positions.

The data also found that 68% say gender and age affect how seriously their health concerns are taken at work. 23% of them feel menopause is misunderstood and not properly addressed in the workplace.

Jasmine Escalera, career expert at LiveCareer UK, said: “Menopause shouldn’t be a career limiter. When organizations normalize the conversation and provide meaningful support, they’re not just helping women, they’re protecting their leadership pipeline and building a stronger, more inclusive culture.”

Many women manage symptoms alone. The report found 58% turn to therapy or mental health support, 58% to exercise or nutrition changes, and 52% use hormone replacement therapy or other medication. Fewer than 2% said symptoms had not affected their work.

Can Education Partnerships Change The Pipeline?

Efforts to support women earlier in their careers are also being spoken about. University Academy 92 has partnered with Fujitsu to fund women in digital courses. The partnership includes £40,000 for bursaries for six students over three years and £61,000 from Fujitsu’s apprenticeship levy to upskill six female staff members.

Kanik Peart, a Cyber Security student and bursary recipient, said: “Since secondary school, I’ve wanted to pursue a career in cyber security. Being awarded the Fujitsu bursary has reassured me that I truly belong in the industry and has lifted a huge financial weight, allowing me to focus on my studies without worrying about covering basic living costs. It’s inspiring to see companies investing in women and non-binary people in tech and helping to make the industry as a whole more inclusive. We need more initiatives like this.”

Kirsty Gallacher, Head of Social Value for Fujitsu, said: “Fujitsu values the opportunity to work with UA92 to invest in future talent and foster a more inclusive, highly skilled digital workforce.”

Who Pays The Higher Price When Fraud Hits?

Research from Enfuce found that three in five UK adults have experienced financial fraud, with men and women affected at similar rates. The difference appears in the aftermath.

Of the women who experienced fraud, 44% reported constant stress and anxiety compared with 35% of men. 29% of women said they felt less safe, and 12% said their financial confidence had been damaged. A quarter cut back on essential spending and 21% struggled to pay bills.

Denise Johansson, Co Founder and Co CEO of Enfuce, said: “Equal risk does not mean equal impact. If fraud leaves women feeling less confident in the financial system, then we are not closing the gender gap, we are reinforcing it. Financial institutions have a responsibility to go beyond compliance and treat fraud prevention as a core part of safeguarding financial inclusion and equality.”

More Tech And Startups Addressing Women’s Issues Directly

These technologies, women founders and startups are also changing the game by solving women’s issues. This IWD, we celebrate them, too:

Camellia Chan, CEO and Co-founder, X-PHY

“International Women’s Day is a reminder that inclusion isn’t built through slogans or grand gestures. It’s built through systems that help people grow. And with recent reports showing that jobs traditionally done by women are more vulnerable to the impact of artificial intelligence, the importance of empowering women has never been greater.

“In tech and cybersecurity, we often focus on whether women ‘belong.’ However, to really understand what makes women thrive, we need to question whether organisations are creating the conditions for them to lead – through mentorship, peer learning, and real access to emerging tools like AI.

“In practice, that means moving beyond generic training recommendations and instead building in structured learning time and support to help all employees remain competitive in a rapidly changing world of work. Instead of allowing disruption to deepen existing gender gaps, businesses must create environments where women grow alongside the AI boom.”

Cubbi

Cubbi is a free app designed to help parents save money on everyday essentials, created by first-time mum Olivia Davson and her sister Tanyka, after experiencing the financial pressure of early parenthood. The platform connects families with exclusive discounts, offers and rewards from more than 200 brands across baby products, household items and family services.

By using technology to bring these offers into one easy-to-navigate space, Cubbi helps reduce the cost of raising children while also supporting smaller family-focused brands with visibility. Since launching, the app has grown to more than 20,000 users and recently secured investment from Susie Ma on Dragons’ Den. By tackling the financial strain many women experience during maternity leave and early parenthood, Cubbi is helping families access practical, everyday savings at a time when household budgets remain under pressure.

Nourished

Founded by Melissa Snover, Nourished is a pioneering health technology company transforming the way personalised nutrition works. Using patented 3D printing technology, Nourished creates bespoke gummy supplements tailored to individual health needs, lifestyle and goals. Customers complete an AI-powered quiz which analyses factors such as diet, sleep, stress levels and health priorities, before generating a personalised “stack” of nutrients printed into a single daily gummy.

The brand recently launched its Formulaic range in Boots, bringing personalised nutrition to the high street for the first time. By combining manufacturing innovation with data-driven personalisation, Nourished is helping people take a more targeted approach to health and wellbeing, including support for hormone balance, energy and cognitive function.

Emma Richardson-Gerrard, Founder, Knude Society

Emma Richardson-Gerrard, the Brighton-based founder of Knude Society, who is reclaiming the sexual wellness space from corporate boardrooms. Emma has just acquired the edible wellness brand For Play – a move that brings premium, nutrition-backed intimacy (like their sell-out adaptogen chocolates) under the leadership of an actual female consumer rather than male corporate execs.

Her sex toy brand Knude Society is a female lead, female created and female focused business aiming to provide pleasure for women that has been developed by somebody who actually gets it.

She also been running events specifically for women to attend – the Send Knudes event – where attendees will draw or paint their own nude as a form of self-acceptance.

Ahlya

Ahlya is a new personalised lifestyle syncing app, created by Lynda Wilkes-Green, who became increasingly frustrated with her experience of women’s health professionals. She created Ahlya, an AI-powered wellness tool that understands women’s bodies, wellness and gives them back control. Lynda believes for too long, women’s health has been an afterthought and women have been told to push through issues like fatigue, mood swings and brain fog. Ahlya believe your hormones aren’t the problem – they’re the key. Ahlya turns your cycle data into a source of clarity, helping you move through each phase with balance, purpose, and power.

Ahlya gives personalised insights on workouts, nutrition, productivity, and self-care based on where women are in their cycle. Connecting the dots between hormones, energy and mood, it takes the guesswork out of how you feel, helping anticipate what’s to come and make informed choices. It goes further than just physical aspects of cycle management and offering generic advice, Ahlya prioritises mental health and includes a gratitude journal, guided meditations and mindset-shifting “elevation” audios tailored to the phases of your cycle. Ahlya has a partner-sharing feature too, so that the people around you can understand better and support in meaningful ways.