Beyond the ‘Female Founder’ Label: Is it time to retire gendered job titles?

As women continue to shape the creative industry on their own terms, many are questioning whether the term ‘female founder’ still serves a purpose. So, we spoke to creative women to understand how they feel about the label in 2025 and whether it’s helping or hindering progress.

While there’s no denying that the creative industries still have a long way to go when it comes to gender equality—from who gets the top jobs to who secures investment—the language we use to describe women in leadership is evolving. For some, proudly embracing the ‘female founder’ title is a way to highlight just how few women have made it into positions of power, serving as a rallying cry for visibility, solidarity, and change.

For others, the term feels outdated – a subtle reminder that women’s achievements are still seen as outliers rather than the norm. After all, no one calls male business owners ‘male founders’, so why should gender still be the headline for women who launch and lead studios?

This International Women’s Day, Creative Boom spoke to a diverse group of women running creative businesses to ask: is the ‘female founder’ label still relevant, or has it outlived its purpose? From those who wear it with pride to those eager to retire it entirely, their reflections paint a complex picture of gendered language, representation, and the evolving realities of leadership in 2025.

A divisive label with good intentions

STUDIO.C, founder and creative director Charlotte Ferris sees the label as reflecting reality, not just rhetoric. “As women, many of us do relate to ‘female founder’ or ‘female-founded’ because we’re simply not where we need to be yet — and this is because of our gender,” she says. “The struggles and realities we face are consistent because we’re female business owners, and there’s a shared understanding.”

Ferris sees the term as part of a wider movement and a step towards amplifying women’s achievements in creative leadership despite the barriers they still face. “It may seem regressive to some, but for me, saying ‘female founder’ makes noise about the incredible things women are doing, not because of our gender, but because we can.”

At LULACREATES, creative director and founder Louisa O’Kane also sees value in the term, particularly when it comes to community-building. “The label has drawn me to female-focused communities like Female Founders Rise, where I’ve found support, business guidance and inspiration I’d have struggled to find elsewhere,” she says. With women still vastly underrepresented in creative leadership – holding just 12% of creative director roles – O’Kane believes the label can help drive change.

Visibility versus pigeonholing

For some women, the label’s value lies in its visibility, acting as a beacon for others seeking representation or inspiration. DNCO founder and executive chair Joy Nazzari initially resisted calling her studio ‘female-founded’, but her strategy director offered a different perspective. “He said, ‘It’s not for you, Joy. It’s for other women’. It still makes me uncomfortable, but I recognise that it signals something important to others.”

Folk Agency creative director Lou Chorley agrees. “I’d love to live in a world where the ‘female founder’ label wasn’t necessary, but until we’re the norm, it needs to be part of the conversation,” she says. “As mothers of daughters, we feel a deep responsibility to use our platform to disrupt industry norms and inspire change. If embracing the label helps us get there faster — sign us up.”

When empowerment starts to feel like othering

Not everyone welcomes the label, especially when it becomes a permanent prefix. Denomination CEO and co-founder Rowena Curlewis finds it increasingly outdated and feels that it sometimes comes across as “a polite pat on the head rather than a badge of honour”. She says: “It risks reinforcing the idea that women-led businesses are an exception rather than the norm. I’d rather be recognised for the impact and success of my business, not my gender.”

Gracias Company founder and creative director Daniela Castiblanco shares similar frustrations. “I don’t run a ‘female-founded’ design studio. I run a design studio. Period,” she says. While Castiblanco supports visibility and solidarity, she questions when labels cross the line into tokenisation. “Instead of simply being acknowledged as leaders, creatives, and entrepreneurs, we become a subcategory.”

Another creative firmly in favour of getting rid of the term is Allies co-founder Emma Hetherington. “I understand the importance of visibility, but I don’t want my gender to define my role. I just want to be seen as a great creative,” she says. In her local creative scene, where female-led studios remain rare, Hetherington’s gender has been used as shorthand for assumptions — too young, too quiet, too unconventional. “These perceptions have been discouraging, but they’ve also fuelled my determination to rewrite the narrative.”

Practical advantages — for now

Some founders see the term more pragmatically, including POD LDN founder Adrienn Major, who uses it strategically. “I do call myself a female founder on LinkedIn, not because that’s how I see myself, but because some clients actively look for women-led businesses,” she says. “In an ideal world, my gender wouldn’t matter — but for now, visibility helps inspire others and opens doors.”

At Now Medical Studios, co-owner Emily Holden acknowledges the practical benefits, too. “Being ‘female founders’ has opened doors for us, particularly when applying for diversity funding,” she says. But ultimately, Holden wants the work to speak for itself. “We want to be selected for our creativity and expertise — not because we’re the ‘ladies at Now Medical Studios’.”

Holden also notes the additional bias women face in both creative and scientific fields. “Women in STEM face similar challenges, and we’ve often felt like we had to shout louder just to be heard.”

Language, leadership and the future

For many, the debate around ‘female founder’ is part of a wider conversation about language, identity and power. Designer and strategist Charlotte Sunnan brings a valuable cross-cultural perspective. “In French, feminising job titles are becoming more accepted, but in English, adding ‘female’ to a title feels like a double-edged sword,” she says. “It can highlight women’s achievements or narrow the perception of their work.”

Sunnan also questions the way gendered leadership is framed more broadly. “Terms like ‘boss bitch’ and ‘queen in power’ might empower some, but they also push women towards performative dominance, like we have to mimic aggression to be taken seriously.”

How&How founder and executive creative director Cat How embraces the contradiction. “I’ve used ‘female founder’ before and probably will again — it feels like a badge of honour because it’s still rare and bloody difficult. But I’d love for us to move beyond gendered language.” For How, the term’s empowering intent sometimes clashes with a desire for pure professional recognition. “Even International Women’s Day can feel like the patriarchy throwing us a bone,” she jokes.

Not just for us, but for the next generation

Sadie May Studio creative director Rebecca May balances pride with hope for future change. “I’m proud of being a ‘one-woman studio’ — it reflects who I am and how I work — but I hope by the time my kids are grown up, gendered labels will feel irrelevant.”

Hybrid Design founder Dora Drimalas takes a similar stance, viewing the label as part of a larger cultural evolution. “Women and non-binary people are still significantly underrepresented. Until that changes, shedding light on these issues helps give voice to the cause.”

At STUDIO.C, Ferris also sees the long game. “I hope the challenges we face today are lessened or eradicated by the time my daughter begins her career.”

Whether they embrace, reject, or tolerate the label, these women are all shaping the future of creative leadership on their own terms. It seems like the ultimate win would be that the label’ founder’ could stand alone one day without the qualifier. Perhaps that will be a sign of true progress.