Julia Boorstin | More Than Just A Pay Gap: Imbalances in VC Investing - by scottdclary startup venture
The discussion around gender pay discrepancies isn’t anything new. It’s still vitally important, but it’s not new. A stone we’ve left relatively unturned, though, is the gender gap when it comes to VC funding.
Julia Boorstin grew up with parents who actively supported the Civil Rights Movement. They were proponents of change who wanted to see their daughter have all the opportunities in the world. It was a rude awakening. But it drove Julia to become incredibly passionate about women in leadership and the issues they face — and since then, it’s been nothing but net.Before we get to the topic of venture capital investing, let’s get one thing clear — women can be just as effective in leadership as men. And what’s more, they tend to take completely different approaches to see highly successful results.
“The archetype of aggressive top-down hierarchical management is really not the way things work — certainly not anymore. We should just throw out the stereotypes of what a leader looks like, because it has nothing to do with what in reality actually works.”It’s hard to imagine that a simple stereotype — a default profile, often exaggerated in nature, that we attach to certain people and things — could be destructive.
And yes — now that men are the most prevalent in the tech startup space, they’re the recipients of most of venture capital investments. This is the issue Julia unpacked with me in our interview.Before my talk with Julia, I never realized put much thought into how important it is for VC firms to have a female presence. I mean, if asked, we’ll all say — of course, it’s important.
“Tech companies have massive influence over everything. And tech companies are funded by venture capital, because venture capital fuels them and allows them to grow massively. So I wanted to look at this sector, because this is the sector with the craziest gender gap.”So, why is there such an obvious difference between the number of deals offered to women-led startups and the amount of money these startups receive? I was eager to hear from the expert.
“Maybe you have a pattern of investing in people who were engineers at an Ivy League school, and then founded an enterprise software company, which they sold. And now you want to invest in these second-time founders. If you’re looking at that subset of founder, you’re going to be looking mostly at men.”
From Julia’s perspective, it’s not so much a conscious, intentional prejudice as it is a series of small subconscious choices that add up. But the result is a very clear gender gap — one that’s difficult to ignore. “He took a step back and realized that there were systems investors could put in place to make sure they weren’t just investing in the obvious thing based on the pattern.”
“Interestingly, they put these systems in place in their meetings to make sure they’re getting rid of bias; they’d hear a pitch, and then instead of just opening the floor for conversation, they’d have everyone write down what they thought about the company. One dominating person couldn’t railroad everyone else into listening to their opinion.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Combatting the Wage Gap on Native Women’s Equal Pay DayNative American women have one of the largest wage gaps in the country, earning approximately 51 cents per dollar paid to the average white man. This gap can lead to losses of over $1.1 million over a 40-year career compared with non-Latino white men.
Read more »
'My Unorthodox Life's Julia Haart Explains Suing Her Estranged HusbandMyUnorthodoxLife star Julia Haar is explaining why she filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her estranged husband, Silvio Scaglia.
Read more »
‘I wouldn’t trade her for anything’: Neighbors with 40-year age gap form endearing bondTwo neighbors in Florida are showing it costs nothing to live by the motto of “Be Kind.'
Read more »
‘I wouldn’t trade her for anything’: Neighbors with 40-year age gap form endearing bondTwo neighbors in Florida are showing it costs nothing to live by the motto of “Be Kind.'
Read more »
MTA considering fare hike to close $2.6 billion budget gap without layoffs, reducing serviceThe MTA is in dire need of cash after taking a huge hit during the pandemic. Instead of laying off workers or reducing service commuters, many may be hit with a fare hike. JennaMDeAngelis explains.
Read more »
Anchorage School District could increase class sizes to close budget gapIncreasing classes by one across all grades would save the district $7 million and require 60 fewer teachers than the district needs to operate now. Increasing it by five would save the district $32 million and require 274 fewer teachers.
Read more »