Racial and gender bias continues to plague investing in both the U.S. and UK. In fact, in 2022, women-founded U.S. startups garnered just 2% of the total venture capital invested, and new research from both sides of the pond reveals more about the attitudes of investors and founders alike.
Illumen Capital, an impact fund based in Oakland, Calif., released its annual report, which found that while more than 90% of its fund managers believe increasing diversity in investing is morally right, upwards of 60% say bias holds back those efforts.
Similarly, Pink Salt Ventures, a London-based VC firm that invests in woman-led tech companies, found in a survey that 97% of female founders believe male and female founders are treated differently, and a lack of women decision-makers within VCs was the most commonly cited barrier to funding.
“Until female founders receive the funds they need at the valuations they deserve, they won’t participate in the liquidity events that can enable them to become serial entrepreneurs and investors themselves,” said Dana Kanze, an architect of the UK study and assistant professor at the London Business School.
The Asset Management Industry Needs to Make DEI More Than an HR Buzzword
The asset management industry isn’t exactly known for diversity in its ownership ranks, and neither are the outsourced service providers firms often engage. Katie Twomey of Illumen Capital argues for diversity across the board, even in organizations without traditional supply chains.
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