Australian women founders are driving the work-from-home revolution being far more likely than their male counterparts to launch a business so they can work flexibly, according to new research.

The report by startup monitor Startup Muster shines a light on the differences in the Australian startup founder experience based on gender and cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, using data from its survey of 473 startups, 157 female founders and 159 CALD founders.

The report reveals that women entrepreneurs are far more likely to work from home than men, with nearly 80 per cent working from a home office, compared to 70 per cent of overall respondents to the survey.

Women were also more likely to have launched a startup in part because they needed a flexible working situation, with nearly 70 per cent doing so compared to less than 60 per cent overall.

And just 10 per cent of women founders work full-time in an office, compared to 18 per cent of overall respondents.

The data shows that launching a company has helped many women access the flexible work they need for a range of reasons and are more likely to continue working from home than male founders.

The research also reveals that women are more likely to employ other women.

Of the female founders surveyed, 75 per cent of their full-time staff are women, compared to just 35 per cent of all the companies that participated.

More socially minded

Women founders are also more likely to have launched a company with a social good in mind, and to be motivated by more than profit alone.

More than one in five female-founded companies are social enterprises, compared to 13 per cent of overall startups included in the research.

They are also more likely to describe their values using terms such as integrity, innovation and collaboration, and are much more aware of philanthropic organisations operating in the startup sector, such as the Atlassian Foundation and Pledge 1%.

While 11 per cent of overall founders said that profit alone drives their decision-making, just 7 per cent of women said that it did.

When it comes to advice for aspiring founders, women entrepreneurs are far more likely to tell them to be resilient and prepared for difficulties, and to make use of the wider ecosystem.

They are also more likely to recommend someone stays in their part-time job or doesn’t quit their day job.

NSW Shadow Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Jacqui Munro said the research provides “critical insights into how governments can improve opportunities and maximise the impact of resources in the startup ecosystem”.

“Unlocking the potential of underrepresented founders is critical for our country’s future,” Munro said.

“Women and culturally and linguistically diverse founders and potential future founders are not only an under-tapped economic resource.

“The failure to utilise the unique approach to business that these entrepreneurs offer will mean that we are missing out on innovations that could change our world.”

The experiences of CALD founders

The research looked at the different experiences of startup founders from a CALD background.

It found that these founders are more likely to have a Master’s degree, are more strongly represented in the AI and clean energy sectors, and are more likely to employ people on visas or international students.

“Inequality for women and CALD professionals is not the result of a lack of talent, but of systems that have not evolved quickly enough to support equitable access, progression and recognition – leading to what I refer to as the ‘influence gap’,” TechDiversity Foundation executive director Luli Adeyemo said.

“These insights should serve as a call to organisations to rethink how inclusion is embedded into decision-making, leadership pathways, and organisational culture, so that diversity is not just represented, but genuinely enabled to thrive.”