Gender Toolkit

1. Incorporate a Gender Lens into Startup Screening Use gender-smart investment screening questions and criteria to evaluate applicant startups — e.g., whether the founding team includes women, the business model addresses unmet needs of women customers, or staff practices promote gender inclusion. This can help identify high-potential, gender-inclusive ventures early. gendertoolkit.bii.co.uk 2. Guide Participating Startups on Gender Strategy Incubators can share toolkits and templates with portfolio companies to help them craft gender action plans — concrete steps to improve gender diversity, expand services to women customers, or address gender gaps in their value chain. gendertoolkit.bii.co.uk 3. Deliver Workshops and Capacity-Building Integrate the toolkit’s concepts into training sessions on inclusive business design, workforce diversity, and gender-responsive product development. Use the sector profiles to make sessions relevant to startups in different fields. gendertoolkit.bii.co.uk 4. Enhance Monitoring & Impact Measurement Adopt the toolkit’s guidance on collecting gender-related data to track and measure progress on gender outcomes among incubator cohorts — such as female leadership representation, gender diversity in teams, or gender-responsive product offerings. gendertoolkit.bii.co.uk 5. Build Inclusive Ecosystem Practice Leverage the toolkit to inform incubator policies and practices — such as inclusive recruitment for mentors, gender bias training for review panels, or designing gender-responsive support services.