Why Women Aren’t Getting VC Funding At The Same Rate As Men

How do you stand out and fit in all at the same time? Generations of women walked this tightrope by downplaying their feminism while dressing in boxy pantsuits. Julia Boorstin, reporter and creator of CNBC’s Disruptor 50 franchise argues that it doesn’t have to be that way.

In her latest book, When Women Lead, Boorstin interviewed over 60 female CEOs and leaders who embraced their womanhood and leveraged their unique skills to build and grow their organizations. Most of the women featured are in the technology field and raised their own venture capital (VC) funding. This distinction is significant, as Boorstin reports, men get nearly all the VC money and deals, and each VC check men receive is larger than a woman’s check.

This funding phenomenon becomes a self-perpetual cycle. Male investors tend to fund male CEOs. Male CEOs tend to hire people who look like them as their first employees. When a company sells, those men make money. They then invest in other men. This cycle continues, and the unintended consequence is that women are excluded or their ideas are overlooked.

But the differences don’t stop there, shares Boorstin. Men and women founders are asked different types of questions by investors. Men get questions to ascertain their potential – their hopes and accomplishments. Investors asked women to explain losses related to “safety, responsibility, and security considerations.”

Those same investors asked men how they would acquire customers and asked women how they would retain customers.

Don’t work on trying to change someone who doesn’t want to change. Boorstin makes an important point. “Instead of proving, work on improving.” While women may not want to compete against others, they might be willing to compete against themselves. “If workplaces can restructure to focus on self-competition,” shares Boorstin, “or outperforming one’s past results, rather than competing against each other, it would reduce gender inequity.”

Women lead differently, Boorstin reminds us. She outlines several differentiating factors, including:

1. Attention to context
2. Instinct to search for structural solutions instead of quick band-aids, temporary, fixes.
3. Actively seeks out diverse perspectives and weaves them into their decision making.
4. Pursue purpose-driven companies and display vulnerability.

The challenge, as Boorstin illuminates, is that “All these things are conducive to successful leadership, yet are less often recognized as essential traits for a successful leader.”

Growth mindset, championed by Carol Dweck, is enabled when humility is paired with confidence as the learning journey contineus. There will be some bumps along the way. Research has shown that early failure weeds out the uninterested and weak and let’s the high achievers triumph. It can make you stronger in the long run.

When Women Lead provides the marching orders and infused motivation to go out and try. Enough attempts and appropriate reflection and you will succeed.