May 05, 2010
According to the Centre for Women’s Business Research, women own 40% of the private businesses in the US.
But–according to Astia, a nonprofit group that advises female entrepreneurs–women only create eight percent of venture-backed tech start-ups. What gives?
On April 21, 2010, the New York Times published an article examining the gap between male and female entrepreneurs in tech start-ups in Silicon Valley, New York, Austin and Boston.
Why are there so few women leading tech start-ups? Some highlights from Out of the Loop in Silicon Valley:
Education
Role models
Motherhood
Perception
According to the article, there’s still hope for female tech entrepreneurs: studies have found that teams with both men and women are more innovative and more profitable. And IT companies with women directors have greater return on investment, equity and sales. Organizations to engage girls and young women in science, technology and business are sprouting up (Girls in Tech! Women 2.0! WSTB!) and some of the hottest start-ups in Silicon Valley were founded by women–start-ups like Eventbrite, Meebo and Ning. Even Barbie has hopped on the tech bandwagon: she’s now a computer engineer.
Read the full article: Out of the Loop in Silicon Valley.
For perspectives on women technology entrepenurs in Canada, check out How women tech entreprenurs are breaking through the glass ceiling from CATA WIT. Learn about the Women in Business Initiative at Rotman. Visit the Women Entrepreneurs of Canada website. Read about programs that introduce young women to the world of science and technology–programs like Gr8 Designs for Gr8 Girls and Go Eng Girl.