Talking About Women in Venture Capital with Katrina German from Ethical Digital
Later this week, on March 24th, we are holding a panel on Women in Venture Capital, featuring Kenzie Bergeron, Laurie Dmytryshyn, and Denise Baril. The facilitator for our panel is Katrina German, founder and CEO of Ethical Digital.
I sat down with Katrina, and she explained that she and her team are changing the trajectory of the internet through digital strategy, research and certification. Just a small goal, no big deal.
One of their current research projects is a study on women in venture capital, and the lack of women in the industry. They have been working with San Francisco-based Neal Dempsey, of Bay Partners, ranked a top venture capitalist on the Forbes Midas list, and investor in great Canadian companies like Coconut Software and SalonScale. They are also working with the Diversity Institute at Ted Rogers School of Management on research in the area.
As Katrina explains it, “Venture capital funds the Internet… billions of dollars flow into the space each year. Venture capital hit record highs last year, and of those billions that were invested, female founders raised only 2.2% of the funding.”
2.2%?? 2.2% of $330 BILLION dollars! My mind was blown over that percentage. Other mind-blowing stats:
women represent only 8% of the investment professionals at the top 25 VC firms, even though it’s one of the most sought-after fields for top business school grads
As of 2019, 65% of VC firms still have zero female partners or GPs
As of June 2021, less than 20% of total VC deals went to a startup with at least one female founder.
So where do we go from here? Ethical Digital’s goal is to gather the data, do the research, shine a light on these issues and then use it to start making changes. They want to be speaking to VC groups across North America, and compiling more research about the barriers to women entering this profession. They’ll be contributing to the larger base of information that is currently available, setting a baseline with the research, and using it to monitor the changes that occur.
And from there, they have many ambitious plans such as their goal of having the number of females in decision-making positions in venture capital to 30% by 2035. Creating a Lean In type of movement that not only speaks to women, but speaks to allies like Neal. Speaking to the men in the room who can talk to the others, and show them the research and specific business models and statistics that showcase how employing women is a smart business move.
At the end of the day, if we were to change the number of women in venture capital, then we would start to see a difference in the types of projects being funded and the industries being affected. More women = more representation = more equity.