SVB survey finds significant
numbers of startups continue to have no women in leadership, yet a growing
percentage have programs in place to change that
SANTA CLARA, CA – February 22, 2018 – Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the bank of the world’s most
innovative companies and their investors, released itsWomen
in Technology Leadership 2018 report today. The report found that 67 percent of startups surveyed
have no women on their boards and 51 percent have no women in executive
positions. The number
of startups that say they have programs in place to increase the number of
women in leadership, however, in one year jumped from 28 percent to 43 percent.
Views
were collected as part of SVB’s ninth annual Startup Outlook 2018 report, which surveyed 1,045 startup executives primarily in the US,
UK and China. Globally, 25 percent of startups had a female founder or
co-founder.
In
addition to measuring the number of women in leadership, SVB’s Women in Technology Leadership report
compares startups’ views of the innovation economy based on the gender of their
founders. Survey findings include:
- There has been no progress for women in technology leadership in
the US in the past three years
- Women’s roles differ based on the gender of startups’ founders
- Fundraising success rate is not influenced by founder gender, but
companies with at least one female founder report the fundraising environment
is more challenging
- Startups with a female founder expect to rely more heavily on
angel and individual investors and less on venture capitalists than startups
with no female founders
SVB asked startups to describe the programs they have implemented to increase the number of women in
leadership. They say they are setting and tracking diversity goals, actively
coaching employees for leadership and encouraging industry involvement in
female-focused organizations. Startups also report they are changing the way
job descriptions are written and how they are recruiting and conducting
interviews to mitigate potential unconscious bias.
“Our clients are always looking at what’s next, how to improve on
the status quo, and once they decide to do something they move quickly,” said
Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank.
“With that mindset, a willingness to think differently and being
open to candid conversation, we believe that the innovation sector has the
opportunity to change. There is much work to be done, and it starts with each
business leader making inclusion, equal representation
and diversity an imperative.”
The
full report is available at www.svb.com/startup-outlook-report/
Follow
the conversation on Twitter at @SVB_Financial and @SVB_UK with #StartupOutlook.
About Silicon Valley Bank
For 35
years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative companies and their
investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides targeted financial
services and expertise through its offices in innovation centers around the
world. With commercial, international and private banking services, SVB helps
address the unique needs of innovators.