The number of women working in the venture capital and technology industries must change.
In part this is down to cultural problems. Last week another case of harassment was brought forward, this time at dating business Tinder.
The Financial Times put out a nice comment piece placing the shocking allegations of the case in the context of the wider debate about how the technology industry underrepresents women.
The FT’s Gillian Tett wrote: “The numbers are shocking. Back in the mid-1980s, women represented 30-40 per cent of all university students in computing science courses in the UK and US. A similar proportion of women worked in this nascent industry, too. But, as the sector has grown, the female proportion has plunged: today barely one-tenth of all US students studying computer science are women.”
The venture industry also had 11% of executives that were women, when trade body the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) measured the proportion in 2011.
In some ways the corporate venturing industry has the potential to be a force for change on this note. Forbes and Grant Thornton found last year there were 24% of women in senior management – it is to be hoped that corporate venturing has a similar proportion and we are trying to develop accurate data on this subject.
Debby Hopkins, chief innovation officer of Citi and head of its corporate venturing unit Citi Ventures, told Global Corporate Venturing last month that transforming the participation of women in the technology and venture industries had become “a passion” for her.
Citi Ventures had just hosted a Women and Tech Next Wave Breakfast as part of the Bloomberg Next Big Thing conference, reported here.
Hopkins, whose direct reports are all female, said: “Women don’t lack courage. As Ron Conway said at the conference the first three years of a start-up are sheer hell. Yet if a woman leaves a corporation to launch a start-up it is said they are looking to spend more time with their family.” Hopkins said to alter the lack of women’s participation in technology, venture capital and business generally it would be necessary to change the way business works.
To this end, Global Corporate Venturing is keen to champion women in corporate venturing and will run a special article on women in the industry as part of our Powerlist, as well as spearheading a push to get better statistics on the proportion of women in the industry. Editorially we selected two of the top 10 and four of the top 25 as women in 2013’s Powerlist.
This year’s Powerlist will come out in October alongside a special drinks reception in Silicon Valley, ahead of our Triple Helix Venturing for the Longer Term conference in Half Moon Bay.
Given our women in the workforce push, we hope there will be a strong proportion of women in attendance. Do suggest other ways we can help give this issue the attention it deserves.