Closing the Gender Gap in FundingWomen invest more wisely than men but receive far less venture capital.

ByRaj Girn

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Between 2004 and 2016, the number of angel investors in the U.S.grew从大约225000年到300000年。在开始的时候only about 5% were female, but by the tail-end of this 12-year-trend their number had grown to 26% of all US-based funders.

Despite this increase, rookie companies led by women continue to receive much less money than their male counterparts. For instance, female-led startups onlyreceived2.3% of all venture capital funding in 2020. This is made more disparaging considering that said companies tend to be, on average, moreprofitable.
Related:Why Women Entrepreneurs Have A Harder Time Finding Funding

Why female funders do it better

Investment data shows that women-helmed companies have higher business metrics than those run by men. One analysis performed by Boston Consulting Groupfoundthat, when female-led startups are able to receive funding, they end up delivering value at more than double the investment. While this provides inherent value for investors looking to maximize their ROI, it also presents an unseen opportunity: lady bosseshiremore than twiceas many females as their Y-chromosomed rivals.

Evidence shows that female leaders lean towards hiring more diverse teams, overall, which provides socio-economic dividends and it paves the way for them to achieve similar levels of success. They are able to take note of how other women were able to found thriving ventures.
Related:Women Invest Differently Than Men and Get Better Results

Juggling family with work

Millions ofwomen entrepreneursalso are mothers. Raising kids and being a business leader forces you to become hyper-effective with time management. In remaining genuinely transparent with our families, team members and clients we can get buy-ins fromallthe stakeholders in our lives to encourage more effective multitasking. This will serve to provide an opportunity for women to gain even greater social ROI for their businesses as well as for cultivating their professional relationships.
Related:9 Investing Books Entrepreneurs Need to Read in 2021

PE needs more estrogen

As of 2019, firms within the private equity industryheldnearly $4 trillion in assets, yet the field is still underrepresented at the most senior levels of leadership. In fact, oneanalysisconducted by McKinsey and LeanIn.org found that women make up less than 20% of C-Suite teams in the PE industry overall, despite finding that "companies in the top quartile for gender diversity were 25% more likely to outperform industry-median EBIT growth than bottom-quartile companies."

All too often, female leaders have found themselves to be the only "she" in C-Suite meetings. This adds further credence to the issues of gender inequality in the boardrooms.

根据these gender-centric challenges, it is vital that we ensure boards of directors come to understand just how important it is for female-run enterprises to be taken seriously as it just makes good business sense to do so.

Wavy Line
Raj Girn

Confidence Coach, Consultant, Mentor

Raj Girn is an award-winning serial entrepreneur and multimedia personality, who has worked with Fortune 500 companies and A-list celebrities for almost two decades.

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