Date: March 23, 2026
Partner organization: WONDERFUND AB
Brussels, March 2026
March 17th, 2026, the Women Who Build Europe Summit by the European Female Founders took inclusion to another level. As part of the Work Package 5 for STREAM IT project, Wonderfund was able to perform a workshop that would help serve as a teaser for the upcoming STREAM IT webinar 5: Supporting Inclusion, Advancing Opportunities, and Shaping Future Generations.
Led by Sofia Chavez, MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and part of the Wonderfund team, the STREAM IT workshop brought together a powerful mix of founders, investors, policymakers, educators, and ecosystem builders to shape and discuss policy recommendations.
It was a working session that designed and transformed lived experiences into actionable policy insights for strengthening women’s entrepreneurship in STEAM across Europe.
What Barriers Are Women in STEAM Facing Today?
The conversation was shaped by those closest to the ecosystem. With over 35 participants, the majority of whom were identified as founders, this helped showcase a first-hand experience of the barriers women actively face.
Most were working in STEAM-related fields, particularly in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. As the workshop evolved across discussions, one thing became clear: The challenges are not isolated— they are systemic. Participants highlighted four interconnected barriers:
1. Cultural Perceptions & Stereotypes: Entrepreneurship and STEAM are still widely associated with a male-dominated image, limiting representation among women.
The lack of visible role models continues to shape early career choices and aspirations.
2. Limited Access to Networks and Visibility: Women founders often face barriers in accessing:
- Professional networks
- Mentorship opportunities
- Visibility within the ecosystem
These gaps directly impact growth, funding access, and long-term success.
3. Funding Inequality: A recurring theme throughout the workshop was access to funding, where participants pointed to the evident bias in venture capital decision-making and the structural challenges in entering funding networks.
4. Structural and Societal Constraints: From work-life balance to national cultural contexts, women continue to navigate additional layers of complexity when building ventures in STEAM fields.
From Barriers to Solutions: What Needs to Change?
The workshop not only identified problems, but also provided light on practical and actionable steps towards facing the previously mentioned barriers.
1. Rethinking Funding Mechanisms
There was a strong consensus around the need for: targeted funding for women founders, equal access to early-stage capital, and simplified access to EU funding. It was heavily mentioned that earmark funding channels should be created for early-stage founders. We must understand that funding is not just a resource, but a gatekeeper to opportunity.
2. Embedding Entrepreneurship in Education
Participants emphasized that change must start early, and it was made clear that integrating entrepreneurship into school curricula and promoting hands-on STEAM learning could propel young girls to engage in entrepreneurship, as was the case in the previous keynotes that presented to the audience about The Next Generation of Women Innovators:
- Sofia Nikolova, Founder and CEO of BioBliss, Head of Bulgaria for GAM Ivory Coast
- Avanti Sharma, Director of Artificial Intelligence and Growth at Workshop4me, Forbes U30 Laureate 2025
Young women, no older than 17, shared their voices, ambition, and confidence towards a more inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem in technology and infrastructure.
3. Strengthening Networks, Mentorship, and Role Models
Policy and ecosystem initiatives should support structured mentoring programmes, strengthen financial literacy, increase visibility of women founders, and build inclusive networks. Because innovation does not happen in isolation— it happens in communities.
Consequently, one key message stood out: Inclusion is not only a women’s issue, but it is an ecosystem responsibility. We reflected together with the audience on how important it is to reach the time where we talk about Entrepreneurship as a whole, where the participation of women is not required because of gender or lack of participation, but simply a participation based on talent and ownership, because of the many engaging in the context.
But to reach that point, we need to invest in education systems and communities, and that change requires: engaging men as allies, promoting inclusive narratives, and redefining the participation of innovation leadership for the masses.
The outcomes of this workshop will directly contribute to the upcoming STREAM IT Webinar 5, helping shape evidence-based policy recommendations for women’s entrepreneurship and innovation in STEAM. If you wish to participate, just register at the following link:
📅 31 March 2026
🕓 14:00–15:30 CET
📍 Online
🔗 Secure your spot and select your session here: https://lnkd.in/gXBcmTuJ