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The power is in your purse

Want equality for women? Support female founders

Just fifty years ago, women needed a husband’s permission to open a bank account. Today, we ARE the economy:

  • Women influence up to 80% of household spending.¹
  • Women-owned businesses contribute £105 billion to the UK economy every year.²
  • And during the great wealth transfer, women are set to control an increasing share of inherited wealth.³

So this Female Founders Month, I’m not asking for a seat at the table. I’m asking women to recognise that we’ve been the ones holding up the table all along!

By supporting female founders and buying from someone who gets you, you are using your influence to ensure our daughters inherit possibilities, our sons witness equality and our communities benefit.

Are you with me?

SHOP WOMEN OWNED

What happens when women choose women?

Never forget, you are the CEO of your household! You already make the decisions, your money already votes. The question is, who are you backing?

Supporting women-owned businesses isn’t charity, it’s smart economics. Because when women back women, the multiplier effect kicks in: communities grow stronger, supply chains become more human and local economies become more resilient.

We’ve estimated that if everyone in the UK shifted just one purchase to a female-founded business this International Women’s Day, £109 million could be redirected into women-owned brands.

That’s the power of one conscious swap.

Now imagine the signal that sends not just economically but culturally.

Our commitment

For over 20 years, I've made it my business to support, champion and empower women.

In 2018, frustrated by how slowly the system was changing, I created Female Founders Month: a moment each March where we shine a powerful spotlight on women in business and call on the nation to back them.

  • We’ve challenged stereotypes through #ThisIsWhatAFounderLooksLike
  • We’ve celebrated #FoundersRaisingTheFuture
  • We’ve called out the funding imbalance
  • And we’ve shown, time and again, that collaboration beats competition

We’re not waiting for permission anymore. We’re doing what women have always done, rolling up our sleeves and getting on with it!

It begins here and it begins now. 95% of the small businesses on Holly & Co are female founded. I've actively adopted this business model to do all I can to make sure women get the opportunities they deserve. I will keep campaigning to support the wider SME community too because together, we’re stronger.

If women were backed at the same rate as men, they could…

  • Unlock £250 billion for the UK economy⁴
  • Help create a richer society, driven by ‘we’ not ‘I’⁵
  • And show the next generation what’s possible

It’s why 95% of the small businesses on Holly & Co are women-owned and women-run, and why we’re making it our mission to galvanise the community, so that we don’t let the statistics above remain unchanged for yet another International Women’s Day.

Because if you really do believe in women, wouldn’t you back them?

Female Founded Business

The story behind Female Founders Month

Sources:

  1. Women Influence 70–80% of global Consumer Decisions (Global – NielsenIQ 2024)
  2. University of Portsmouth / Federation of Small Businesses research 2018
  3. Money Marketing article on wealth transfer 2025

Check out our female founder collections

ACROSS OUR PODCAST, ARTICLES & SHOP

Want to be inspired? On my podcast Conversations of Inspiration, I'm thrilled to speak to creative entrepreneurs and leaders. Listen, share and shout about these podcast episodes to help us change the landscape for future female founders. You can also show support by shopping with female-founded businesses (look out for the Holly & Co badge on our product pages) and, if you want to start or grow a business, you can read our free business advice articles too.

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