𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗖 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 (𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲) (𝟮/𝟮)

And that figures have not really changed in the past 10 years (even if anecdotal evidence suggests differently).

Now we could say 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁? After all, women are over-represented in HR or healthcare, so it may be normal to have industries where they are less present.I guess there are at least three answers to the “so what?” question when it comes to innovation financing:
👉 Innovation financing is not just another vertical – this is the hear of the vitality of our societies
👉 Experience suggests there is merit in gender (and actually any kind) of diversity. As we know, the enemy of innovation is groupthink, of which there is plenty in our industry.
👉 If the US are our role model when it comes to VC financing, Europe is lagging behind. That in itself is a give-away.

So, if we see it as something we need to improve on, what can we do about it?
👉 Well, 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 there is a topic at hand is a start (vs “nothing to see, nothing to do”).
👉 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: we should not expect women entrepreneurs to behave necessarily like men. So, great if they shout the loudest, but this is not the only way to show leadership.
👉 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 for women. I am not talking about free childcare or flexible working hours/location (even if these are also relevant). I am talking about the way we run our firms: attitude expectations; afterwork entertainment; etc). Bearing in mind that the women we have, the less the divide problem will be.

From a practical standpoint:
✅ What I see in many of the companies I am involved with is 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻. This is not about lowering standards. It is about being wary of our own cognitive biases. And, more systematically, give priority to raw talent and drive vs. experience. Btw, bringing more women as part of teams also helps answer the challenge of a shrinking workforce pool.
✅ This 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: many of the Boards I joined are dominated by men (me included!). I have encouraged all companies to bring in women’s talent as part of the Board for all the reasons mentioned previously.

Sources:
>https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day
‍>https://sifted.eu/articles/why-iwd-make-us-uncomfortable
‍>https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/2025-european-all-in-female-founders-in-the-vc-ecosystem‍https://sciencebusiness.net/news/r-d-funding/patents/only-138-european-patent-applications-are-filed-women-study-finds
‍>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958824001660 (via Ben Evans)

‍