CivicLabs’ Post

How many South Asian female founders based in London do you know? I was asked this question yesterday, and there were pauses as we struggled to string together a short list. It got us thinking, why is this the case? Women lead only 21% of UK SMEs with no employees, even after London saw a surge in female-led startups. From tech innovators to eco-friendly ventures, women are carving paths and setting benchmarks. Yet, the narrative is different for South Asian women, whose numbers in these ranks are even smaller - so small in fact I couldn’t find the numbers. But these aren’t just statistics; they are a reality check about the isolation and barriers still prevalent in our community. It begs the question, what can we do to change this? And for those already out there, let's connect! #FemaleFounders #WomenInBusiness #DiversityInTech #StartupUK #Entrepreneurship #InclusiveBusiness #SouthAsianWomen #SouthAsianFounders #GenderEquality #FundingGap #Representation

🚀 Empowered Connections and Important Conversations 🚀 Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Sophia Tran 🚀 while speaking on a panel about entrepreneurship. Sophia is doing incredible work tackling the significant underrepresentation of female and migrant founders in the German startup ecosystem. 🌍💪 This issue was recently highlighted by the latest AllBright Stiftung study, which sheds light on some key insights: - Only 16% of startups in Germany are led by women. - Migrant founders face additional barriers, from funding access to network gaps. - Gender diversity in leadership correlates with better financial performance, yet the numbers show slow progress in achieving this balance. Sophia’s mission to break down these barriers is more important than ever. I’m excited to collaborate with and support women like her who are driving meaningful change in the industry. AND: If you are an HR leader or GM or Owner of a business, please reach out, if you want to be connected to Sophia. She and her team at Spotlight! have some amazing programs to help you step up your company culture for better, more diverse and satisfied teams. #FemaleFounders #MigrantEntrepreneurs #DiversityInStartups #AllbrightStudy #WomenInBusiness

Thanks to Silicon Canals - European Technology News for shouting out Karin Repp and Katrin Liivat in their "Women at the Helm" piece: https://lnkd.in/gM7rh7Hu 👏 💡 Did you know that Estonia continues to see an increase in the number of female founders? In 2020, women made up 10% of startup founders in the country. By 2023, this figure had risen to 17%! Other startups and scaleups thriving under female leadership include: Jobbatical, Haut.AI , Certific, Fyma, Grünfin, and Single.Earth!

How influential are women in the business world? In which countries do women have the highest rates of entrepreneurial intention? Who dominates the venture capital industry? We have visualized the data from the GEM 2022/23 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report. There are still many steps to take to reduce the gender gap, but women are playing a crucial role in entrepreneurship, making their presence and ideas felt in various sectors and through several initiatives worldwide. 🟣 Let’s work together to make entrepreneurship more diverse and inclusive #womeninbusiness #womenentrepreneurs #womeninentrepreneurship #womenenterpreneurship #gendergap #visualstorytelling #dataviz #datavisualization #womenintech #womenbusinessowners

Around the world, women #entrepreneurs are driving innovation and making strides in disruptive technologies. Yet, in the tech industry, the #funding gap remains stark: 📉 Only 15% of tech startup founders are women. 💼 #Startups founded or co-founded by women receive just 10% of VC funding across Europe. This must change. To build a more equitable and innovative #tech landscape, we need to close the gender funding gap and support more women in #leadership - on founding teams, in the C-suite, on boards and in investment roles. Discover Founders Forum’s “100 Women Founders to Watch” report, spotlighting incredible women innovators leading the way. 🔗 Link to Founders Forum Group report: https://lnkd.in/eaN_D6Jb

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? In 2023, startups led by all-female teams received only 2% of venture capital. Meanwhile, all-male teams took home a staggering 87%. The numbers are stark and speak volumes. Why does this gap persist? It's not just about numbers. It's about missing out on diverse ideas and fresh perspectives. Diversity fosters innovation, yet the larger the funding round, the smaller the female presence. Consider this: Only 1.8% of founders in large funding rounds were women. This imbalance isn't just an issue; it's a massive missed opportunity. The health sector is a beacon of hope, where 24% of founders are women. Yet, in MINT sectors, female representation remains low. The path forward? Encourage more women to enter STEM fields. Support female-led startups. The more successful female founders we see, the more aspiring entrepreneurs will follow. Diversity isn't just a nice-to-have; it's essential for driving creativity and growth. 🌱 Are we ready to close the Gender Investment Gap and unlock true innovation? #GenderInvestmentGap #Innovation #DiversityMatters #STEM #Startups

In a world where innovation knows no gender, women are making remarkable strides in the startup ecosystem. Women now represent nearly one in three entrepreneurs running established businesses and are increasingly stepping into high-growth sectors. With a growing number of female unicorn founders, the future looks promising for women in startups. IGF’s WomenIN enables women in the professional and business ecosystems to advance strategic networks, scale up, and develop their brands globally. #JoinTheConversation: https://lnkd.in/ewbygcT6 #WomenEmpowerment #Innovation #WomenInBusiness #StartupNation #WomenEntrepreneurs #Leadership #GlobalChange #WomenInTech #Empowerment #BusinessGrowth Startup India UN Women International Women's Forum Global women Enterpreneurs NITI Aayog SHEROES National Commission for Women - India

9 Ways To Encourage More Female Leaders In Tech "Seven years ago, I approached venture capitalists in Beijing looking for investment in a company I wanted to build. Without flinching, they told me they wouldn’t invest in a female entrepreneur who was married without kids because they assumed I would leave my business shortly to raise a family. Can you imagine how that felt? What a slap in the face.   Obviously, I didn’t let that stop me. I still started that company and several more after it. But how many female career trajectories have been hobbled because of overt bias like the kind I experienced that day?   Gender imbalance plagues the tech industry. In 2023, only 14% of tech leaders were women. This means that most tech companies are missing out on the myriad strengths that female leaders bring to the table. As an industry, we need to make a change so female leaders can use their talents in tech, rather than taking them to other industries where they feel more welcome." Read more: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eM7CG6Gm #WomenInSTEM #GirlsInSTEM #STEMGems #GiveGirlsRoleModels

🗣️ Our analyst, Mira Knauer, is participating in the Female Founder Office Hours on November 7th 2024, hosted by Playfair Capital in collaboration with Microsoft for Startups and Carta. As the deadline is approaching, register here 🗓️👉🏼 https://lnkd.in/eCWn3dVf   𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 💡🤝🏼 Among others, the latest BVK Bundesverband Beteiligungskapital study and the German Startup Monitor 2023 present concerning statistics about gender diversity in Germany’s startup and venture capital sectors. While there are some signs of progress, the 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 to create a more inclusive industry.   Where do we stand on the investment side? 👩🏾💻 ❶ Only 10% 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 – a change from 8% in 2020. ❷ Women make up 25% 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, an improvement but still far from parity. ❸ 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 are even more imbalanced: 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 18% 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧, and 1/3 of firms have no female representation at all.   Similarly, 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 in Germany also shows slow progress: ❶ The 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 remains 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 20.7% in 2023, barely increasing over the past years. ❷ The vast majority of startups are founded by 𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (61%) ❸ Startups with mixed-gender founding teams have 40% 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 roles compared to 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 13.6% 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬.   🔮 Looking forward: The numbers speak for themselves – progress has been slow, and gender diversity remains a significant challenge in the startup industry. The industry needs to do more to break down the barriers as without meaningful change, the 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.   #GenderDiversity #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #BreakingBarriers

In order to empower women entrepreneurs in Kenya and beyond, we have to recognize the vital role women play in the economy and therefore continue to work on initiatives that promote access to finance, digitalization, training and mentorship to foster a more supportive environment for women owned businesses to thrive. Read more here https://shorturl.at/gwBM0 on how Uzapoint is doing that. #investinwomen #accelerateprogress #iwd2024 #womeninbusiness