Women are shaping deep tech – but scaling still isn’t equal
More than a century after the first International Women’s Day, progress on gender equality is visible — but uneven.
This year’s theme, “Give to Gain,” invites us to reflect on what happens when we collectively invest in inclusion. Because when we expand access — to education, networks, capital — we gain innovation, growth and resilience.
In Europe, women represent 57.8% of tertiary graduates and nearly 48% of doctoral graduates. The talent base is strong. Yet that strength does not consistently translate into equal outcomes in STEM careers, innovation ownership or investment.
For SERN, strengthening regional innovation ecosystems means ensuring that talent and innovative ideas can translate into opportunity and scale. Through the Horizon Europe project EPIC-X, SERN is working to address precisely this gap: the space between participation and progression.
We spoke with Jessica Pellizzari, SERN’s Project Manager for EPIC-X.
How does women’s participation in STEM and tech entrepreneurship currently stand in Europe?
Europe is moving forward, but the data shows clear conversion gaps. Women make up 57.8% of tertiary graduates, yet account for only 41% of scientists and engineers. The step from education into STEM careers remains uneven.
The same pattern appears in deep tech entrepreneurship. In 2022, 24% of European deep tech start-ups included at least one woman founder, up from around 11% a decade earlier. This reflects progress in participation.
However, access to capital tells a different story: women-led deep tech start-ups receive only 15% of seed funding, and roughly 11–15% of total deep tech investment overall. In capital-intensive sectors, this directly affects scaling potential.
The imbalance is also visible in innovation ownership. Between 2018 and 2021, women accounted for just 9% of patent applicants in Europe — a critical metric in deep tech, where patents underpin valuation and investor confidence.
This is not only a question of fairness. Closing gender gaps in STEM employment and education could increase EU GDP per capita by up to 3.0% by 2050 and create as many as 1.2 million additional jobs.
The issue is not a lack of talent. It is ensuring that progress in education translates into careers, patents and investment.
What does EPIC-X aim to achieve, and how?
EPIC-X (Excelling Deep Tech through Place-Based Innovation and Connected Ecosystems for Women-Led Start-Ups) is a Horizon Europe Coordination and Support Action running from 2025 to 2026.
Its ambition is to accelerate women-led deep tech entrepreneurship by strengthening the ecosystems around it.
The project brings together 16 ecosystem builders from moderate and emerging innovator countries, forming a Pan-European interconnected network that will expand to over 100 stakeholders. These include universities, research centres, investors, corporations, accelerators, incubators, business associations and policymakers. Rather than creating isolated support, EPIC-X focuses on ecosystem architecture. It maps deep tech strengths and barriers across regions, defines place-based challenges and “unbiased missions,” – shared, cross-border deep tech priorities designed to steer support towards inclusive solutions and reduce structural barriers – and supports selected women-led ventures through an Acceleration+ programme combining equity-free funding, mentoring, capacity building and structured exposure to investors and partners.
Cross-border collaboration is central. The objective is to reduce fragmentation and create real pathways for scaling beyond national markets through cross-fertilisation activities (to exchange know-how, partnerships and best practices across regions) and an innovative mobility scheme (to create real interregional exposure).
The result is not only a support mechanism for individual start-ups, but a structural strengthening of interconnected regional ecosystems.
What is the role of SERN?
SERN leads the work package dedicated to building and activating the interconnected ecosystem.
In practical terms, this means expanding and strengthening the European network that underpins EPIC-X. SERN works across 16 countries to recruit ecosystem builders, engage universities, investors, corporates and public authorities, and ensure that the project operates as a living, collaborative structure rather than a static consortium.
The goal is to translate regional strengths into European opportunity — and to make sure women-led deep tech ventures are embedded in networks that extend beyond their immediate geography.
Why is building a network so important for women-led deep tech?
In deep tech, networks are not optional — they are infrastructure. They shape credibility, knowledge transfer, faster learning, talent circulation, policy influence, resilience, and, last but not least, visibility
Scaling depends on access to capital, specialised talent, research facilities, regulatory insight and trusted industrial partners. These assets flow through connected ecosystems. When women founders are excluded from high-trust networks, the effects compound: fewer introductions, fewer deals, lower visibility, and slower growth.
EPIC-X builds cross-border connectivity that reduces these barriers — linking regions, investors, and expertise so that promising innovation can translate into sustained growth.
In this sense, networking is not an add-on. It is the intervention.
Are you a university, research organisation, investor, corporate, incubator, accelerator, public agency or innovation expert? Join the EPIC-X Network to connect across Europe and support women-led deep tech ventures from talent to scale.
EPIC-X is a Horizon Europe project funded by the EU. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
