Funding and the Female Entrepreneur
In a report by the Female Founders Fund, the exact numbers of female-led companies that are funded by VCs are published – and they aren’t good. Examining women-led startups in the Bay Area and New York City, the Female Founders Fund report looked at the trends of funding that these companies underwent. The report looked at more than 200 Bay Area startups that received Series A funding (those receiving between $3 million and $15 million led by a VC) last year. They found that a lowly 8 percent of those were women-led startups – nearly a 30 percent decline from the previous year’s. The report reads:
What’s Stopping Women from Getting VC Funding?
Despite the research and awareness highlighting the rampant industry gender inequality, women are still struggling to have the same support for their business ventures. There are speculations that women may lack the confidence or the business ethic to succeed as entrepreneurs, but the real reasons why female entrepreneurs don’t have similar success rates as their male counterparts dive deeper than this. Instead, it comes down to support and stereotypes. In a Knowledge at Wharton article exploring the reasons why women-led startups lack VC support, writer writes:
Moving Forward
At the center of this, women do not have the same networks and support systems in place to succeed as their male counterparts. To find success and a rise in funding, there will need to be a large shift in how women-led startups are viewed. That includes diversifying the startups that are deemed “acceptable” for female entrepreneurs to venture into – not just limiting to retail or childcare, for example. This also means allowing for support for women-led startups to extend past just other female entrepreneurs and financial executives. We all want a diverse, innovative, and inclusive startup culture. Allowing women to be involved past the innovation satage is a necessary step in the right direction when it comes to having full inclusion within startup culture. (H/T Knowledge at Wharton) Image Credit to WOCinTech / Flickr.
