Breaking Barriers: Empowering Women Founders in the Tech World

As I reflect on the state of diversity in the technology industry, with a specific focus on women, I am filled with a mix of pride and concern. Within my own personal sphere, it is truly inspiring to witness the remarkable growth and achievements of women like Christine, who is leading the charge as the CEO of Ingenii, and Laia Domingo Colomer, flourishing in her role as the Chief Science Officer at Ingenii.

However, alongside these and other success stories, it is impossible to overlook the challenges that still persist. It raises important questions about how we can empower women in the tech industry, particularly its founders and leaders, and what steps can be taken to address the existing imbalance.

The frustration I feel stems from witnessing the persisting challenges and barriers that women face in their pursuit of gender equality. It is disheartening to observe that despite progress made, there remains a significant struggle to level the playing field and provide equal opportunities for women in technology and entrepreneurship. This personal experience has fueled a deep sense of annoyance and a strong desire for change. I believe that it is essential for us as a society to address these issues earnestly and work towards creating an environment where gender equality is not just an aspiration we talk about, but a tangible reality.

My Own Experience to Promote Gender Diversity

Drawing from my own experiences and observations, I can attest to the struggles that women face in this male-dominated field, on a basic level as managers, before even considering women in roles as founders and CEOs.

When I founded my cloud solutions startup in 2015, I encountered a stark absence of women in technical roles and leadership positions. The task of finding and hiring talented women proved to be an arduous one, prompting us to launch proactive initiatives to foster and grow diversity. Through persistent efforts at Hentsu, spearheaded by Lisa our amazing Head of HR, we eventually built a management team that was over 60% female-led — a proud achievement that demonstrated the transformative power of dedicated diversity initiatives.

Sadly, the progress we made was later undermined in a matter of days/weeks following a merger. The disappointment was palpable, as a departing female team member succinctly summed it up based on her disillusionment with the incoming Credit Suisse led management: “it’s a bunch of uninspiring older white men”. In hindsight, did we miss a clue with Credit Suisse involved as investors, given their industry reputation?

To compound the issue, the new CEO further exacerbated the situation by referring to this feedback as “women’s issues”, undermining the importance and gravity of the matter.

This starkly revealed the alarming level of ignorance and regressive mindset demonstrated by executives like this CEO, who utterly fail to comprehend the critical importance of diversity and gender equality in the today’s world, rendering them unfit to effectively lead a modern workforce.

This setback served as a painful reminder that the journey toward diversity and inclusion must be ongoing and guarded against regression.

Considering the obstacles faced at even the employee/manager level, how can we even expect to empower women founders?

Women Founders Statistics

Attending a panel discussion on Women in Quantum further opened my eyes to the long-standing challenges women have faced in their quest to advance in the tech and scientific fields. Stories were shared, stretching back decades to the 70s, revealing the systemic barriers that have hindered the progress of talented women. It became clear that the struggle for gender equality in tech is not a recent phenomenon but rather a deeply rooted issue that demands our unwavering attention.

One article that resonated deeply with me was Tessa’s account of her experiences as a female founder in the tech world. Her story highlighted the alarming disparity in funding opportunities for women.

Startling statistics from PitchBook show that only a fraction of venture capital funding goes to all female-founded startups, with just 2.4% of total venture capital funding going to all female founders in 2021 and down to 1.9% in 2022.

These numbers serve as a wake-up call, underscoring the urgent need for change.

It is imperative that we level the playing field and provide equal opportunities for all aspiring founders. By actively supporting and investing in female entrepreneurs, we tap into a wealth of innovative ideas and unique perspectives that fuel the growth and success of the tech industry as a whole.

I wholeheartedly agree with Tessa Clarke and the “Fifty Percent Club” idea! Bring it on.

Understanding the Root Causes

There have been many attempts to dissect and understand the reasons behind the lack of VC funding for women founders. Some key factors contributing to this disparity are definitely what I’ve seen first hand — the bias and stereotypes, and a male-dominated investor landscape.

Investment criteria and risk perception has also come up, with suggestions that investment criteria used by VCs may be biased towards male-led ventures, resulting in a narrower pool of funding options for women founders.

Furthermore, investment decisions can be influenced by (unfounded) differing perceptions of risk levels between women-led businesses and their male-led counterparts. For instance, the discussions surrounding disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes often emphasize her status as a female founder. In contrast, gender debates are not raised in the case of much larger failures involving male founders, such as Adam Neumann and his shady business transactions at WeWork which almost ran it into the ground.

Addressing these underlying issues requires a multi-faceted approach, including efforts to increase awareness and education about gender biases, fostering inclusive networks and mentorship opportunities, promoting diverse representation in the VC industry, and providing targeted funding and support specifically tailored for women entrepreneurs.

So, how do we begin to address these challenges and create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women founders in tech? How do we work towards a future in tech where every talented individual, regardless of gender, can thrive and succeed?

Share your thoughts, insights, and suggestions. This can’t be an unsolvable problem.