Study: The Plain Numbers of Women in Tech Venture Capital (Hess, 2012)
Finding: Women are not well represented in the ranks of tech venture capital firms (VCs).
InPower Insight: In one of the fastest growing segments of the economy – high tech – the people driving the funding agenda are primarily male.
Summary:
Whitney Hess documents the gender ratio of women in tech venture capital firms focusing on early stage funding and have funds over 100 million dollars. Of the 25 VC firms listed by Hess, only 4 firms have more than 15% women in their investment teams. This means that 16% of notable VC firms funding early-stage startups have 15%+ women in their investment teams.
In her list of 25 firms Hess found two firms that bucked the trend: Golden Seeds, with eight out of ten investors being women, Women’s Venture Capital Fund, with 3 out of 3 investors being women and Belle Capital, with ten out of 11 investors being women.
Career Coaching Tip: If you’re a woman in the tech sector and interested in going for financing, evaluate the benefit of pursuing the firms with women investors in their ranks. The number to choose from is smaller, but you may find a different kind of audience for your pitch.
Guide to Women in Leadership
Organizations with women in their executive suites regularly out-perform others. Yet rising female executives (and their mentors) are frustrated at how hard it is to break through the glass ceiling. In this extensive guide, Executive Coach Dana Theus shares her tried and true strategies to help women excel into higher levels of leadership and achieve their executive potential.
