International women's rights day: Institut Curie commits to women's entrepreneurship

“Without action to remove these barriers, women's entrepreneurship risks being permanently excluded from the most value-creating segments. As an institute of excellence in research and a support structure for start-up creation, we have a responsibility to change practices and promote women's access to entrepreneurship.” 

The issue: systemic and structural biases, not individual ones

Why do such disparities persist? Studies[2] reveal that the obstacles most frequently cited by women relate to self-censorship and underestimating the scale of projects. However, the main obstacle mentioned remains mental and family responsibilities. “Female researchers are women like any other: they often bear the brunt of domestic life. What men can do in the evenings or on weekends, some women simply cannot afford to do,” explains Victoria Brun, a researcher in the sociology of science and technology. “Added to this is the issue of motherhood, which can sometimes conflict with the timing of an entrepreneurial venture, leading to involuntary exclusion,” points out Dr. Florence Mahuteau-Betzer, CNRS research director and head of the Chemistry and modeling for cancer biology unit[3] at Institut Curie.

According to Victoria Brun, these inequalities do not reflect a lack of ambition or confidence, but rather the effect of deep-rooted structural mechanisms. If women are less likely to start their own businesses, it is because they have already been held back earlier: they have less access to senior leadership positions, project leadership roles, major sources of funding, and favorable institutional positions. The gap is cumulative. What is referred to as “self-censorship” appears less as a psychological trait than as “the adjustment of aspirations to objectively unequal chances of success,” the sociologist points out.

Women also mention more operational obstacles: the complexity of administrative procedures and the lack of startup capital. “Most of the time, these obstacles are mainly due to a lack of knowledge about existing support mechanisms,” says Dr. Cécile Campagne.

Unequal access to financing: the crux of the matter

Even when they launch their businesses, female founders face a decisive obstacle: financing. In France and internationally, only 2% of the funds raised go to teams that are 100% female. Conversely, 88% of funding goes to teams that are 100% male, and they raise two to three times more funding on average. Investor networks remain overwhelmingly male: 85% of decision-makers in funds and 90% of business angels are men. 

“Today, in entrepreneurship, I am very often the only woman on panel discussions. This is not a minor imbalance, it is really striking,” laments Dr. Céline Vallot, CNRS research director and head of the Dynamics of epigenetic plasticity in cancer team [4] at Institut Curie and co-founder of One Biosciences. “My scientific expertise has forged my legitimacy in the business world, a shield against attempts to destabilize me.” In this ecosystem, where “playing the bro game [5]” often remains crucial to raising funds, investment biases remain systemic.

Concrete actions to unleash the potential of women entrepreneurs

“At Institut Curie, nearly 50% of our inventors are women, but less than 20% of our spin-offs are co-founded by women. We therefore have a role to play in helping these female inventors embark on the entrepreneurial journey, removing the remaining barriers and offering them ongoing support at every stage of their journey,” emphasizes Dr. Cécile Campagne.

At its level, Institut Curie has a twofold ambition: to remove the barriers to women entering entrepreneurship and to address the structural obstacles in the ecosystem that subsequently hinder their paths to success, particularly in the health and deep tech sectors. This ambition is reflected in several priority areas: raising awareness and providing training from the early stages of education, supporting projects led by women through dedicated initiatives, promoting gender diversity within founding and management teams receiving support, addressing biases in the ecosystem by giving visibility to women's initiatives and career paths, and inspiring others by promoting role models and developing mentoring programs.

However, according to Victoria Brun, we must be careful not to overestimate the transformative power of “success stories.” “Exemplary figures are certainly inspiring, but they remain difficult to identify with,” she explains. Dr. Céline Vallot makes the same observation: “Showing only perfect and brilliant career paths can be completely discouraging. Many people think to themselves, ‘I'll never be able to do that.’ “She advocates for” more nuanced narratives that also show the difficulties and the possibility of doing things differently."

Discover the vox pop video created to give the floor to female staff members from the Research center and the Hospital group of Institut Curie. They share their perspectives on the place of women in entrepreneurship and innovation. What barriers still remain? How can more women be encouraged to take the leap?

[1] The term “deep tech” refers to cutting-edge, often disruptive technologies based on major scientific discoveries, engineering innovations, or advances in research fields that have the potential to radically transform industries, economies, and lives. 

[2] Sources:  Baromètre SISTA x BCG 2025 / BPIFRANCE : 2025 GENDER DATA FOR THE 2024 FINANCIAL YEAR

[3] (UMR9187 / U1196 CNRS / Inserm / Université Paris Saclay)

[4] (UMR3244 CNRS / Translational Research Department / Sorbonne University)

[5] The “bro game” refers to an informal system of co-optation and male solidarity, often present in competitive professional environments (finance, tech, entrepreneurship, politics, etc.).