Financial Activism: Are Women-Owned VC Funds the key to accelerating access to capital for women?

There are an estimated 11.6 million women-owned businesses in the United States that employ nearly 9 million people and generate more than $1.7 trillion in revenues. Despite these impressive numbers, there is still room to grow. Women-owned businesses are small, and 99.9% of them have fewer than 500 employees. They are also concentrated in certain areas, like health care and education. If women are going to see full equality in this economy, we need more women making decisions about what new ideas and products get funding. Luckily, fearless women’s VC funds are leading the way and becoming the new arm of the resistance.

According to Huffington Post and Fortune magazine, Thirty-two female CEOs head the 500 biggest companies in the United States, a record number in the Fortune 500’s 63-year history, but women only represent 6 percent of the CEOs on the list, and there were no black female CEOs.

Despite A Growing Number Of Female Entrepreneurs, Only 2% Of Venture Capital Goes To Female Founders

In 2017, female founders only get two percent of venture capital dollars. In January 2022, Bloomberg reported that Female founders secured only 2% of venture capital in the U.S. in 2021, the smallest share since 2016 and a sign that efforts to diversify the famously male-dominated industry are struggling.