Filed Under: , , , ,

Gender Bias Contributes to Blocking Female Founders Out of Investment & Venture Capital. We Need to Fix This.

The world of business equity raising is still dominated by men


Melinda Gates wrote in ReCode back in 2017: “We like to think that venture capital is driven by the power of good ideas. But by the numbers, it’s men who have the keys.”

Gates argued that this was “more to do with historical inequalities than it does with innate ability.”

At the time of Gates’ comments, a U.S. analysis found that just 2% of venture capital finance went to start-ups founded by women, and with women comprising just 9% of the decision-makers at U.S. venture capital firms, the lack of female VC representation seemed a compelling reason as to why. The situation a year on shows no sign of improving.

Recently, a UK VC & Female Founders report for the Treasury discovered that for every £1 of VC investment, all-female founder teams get less than 1p.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss said it was “incredible” that in 2019 men had a “virtual monopoly on venture capital.”

Even within the more disruptive, and arguably progressive, realms of crowdfunding, women are underrepresented – Crowdcube found that only 18% of their funded pitches are led by females or a joint team which includes a female.

www.crowdfundinsider.com

Follow Women Investors on Twitter @women_investors
21 February 2019


0 comments:
Join the Conversation