Bias in business is something of an uncomfortable truth. The assumptions and judgments made without any basis in evidence or merit. It may be unconscious, like one person being unfairly passed over for promotion. Or jaw-droppingly blatant.

I recall a job interview many moons ago, before pursuing my own entrepreneurial endeavour, when the interviewer (a man) asked point blank when I planned to have my next baby. The room, as you can imagine, was swollen in silence, and when I couldn’t answer, he immediately terminated the interview with little explanation.

That was more than 30 years ago, and I started AIKEN PR soon afterwards. His reason was obvious, of course, but left unsaid. Far too often, this blend of business bias – either unconscious or otherwise – is allowed to simmer, unchecked and unchallenged. And its outsized impact on female entrepreneurs is still present today, albeit more subtle.

Stereotypes so systemic that they still curtail a women’s potential in what is such a dynamic and exciting ecosystem. Whether starting, funding, growing or scaling, women regularly face questions around family responsibilities and commitments – not nearly as personal as my own experience, I hope! – despite logging just as many hours (if not more) than their male peers.

All this despite record levels of female-founded businesses getting off the ground in the UK, after 2025 showed women’s early-stage entrepreneurial activity climbed to 9.2% last year, the highest on record.

Which only makes those gender stereotypes, stubborn that they are, all the more frustrating. It could be in the phrasing of an investor question: “how big can this get?” becomes “what if this fails?”

Words matter. The language we use and associate with entrepreneurship, in particular, has the power to shape and indeed reinforce biases that impact upon women founders at every stage. Whether that manifests in access to finance and resources, a lack of confidence, or any one of the number of barriers women encounter when starting or scaling their business.

Contrast that with the early-day Silicon Valley success stories which championed the ‘move fast and break things’ business philosophy, which left it to legal teams who were later forced to move diligently and, in effect, pick up the pieces. Many of these success stories were written exclusively by leadership teams beholden to one person’s impulsive vision of how a company should tick, often prioritising ‘growth at all costs’ and leaving little thought for inclusion or the diversity of the team.

Societal norms remain a persistent issue on these shores, too. Having analysed female entrepreneurship data in Ireland for more than two decades, Professor Maura McAdam of DCU Business School noted recently that women may feel they need to ask permission first before taking that leap of faith and launching their business.

In her research, McAdam points to a potent combination of age-old stereotypes, cultural norms and societal expectations that leave women feeling like they don’t belong in the entrepreneurial space. It is rarely a question of ambition, much less competence. Operating in a system stacked against them, women founders regularly encounter subtle biases in the day-to-day running of their business.

All this evokes American novelist Fannie Hurst who famously said “women have to be twice as good to get half as far”. That was all the way back in 1943.

Much has changed, of course, and for the better, yet the fact that an 83-year-old quote still resonates today speaks volumes to the current landscape.

Which is why events like June’s All-Island Female Entrepreneurs Conference hosted by Women in Business stand as important engines of entrepreneurship. As the only one of its kind on the business scene here, it is certainly one to clear the diary for, after last year’s welcomed Sara Davies MBE for what was a truly memorable coming together of business insights and know-how that were, at the heart of it, fundamentally human. And therefore, deeply relatable.

Professor Maura McAdam echoed this in her research, too, stating that workplaces of all sizes thrive when anchored by four cornerstones: human connection, empathy, emotional intelligence and professional goals. These, to me, are the timeless business buzzwords that will far outlast any passing trend or fad, be that the ‘grindcore’ or bloated ‘9-9-6’ working week that is raising eyebrows across the pond.

Taken together, these tenets equip entrepreneurs and businesses alike with a protective armour of sorts, ensuring they are well positioned to lead through the inevitable change and disruption that tomorrow might bring with the necessary confidence, clarity and self-assurance. And all without moving fast or breaking things along the way.