It’s time for a real talk.
At the beginning of Vento Season 4 we were super thrilled of course, but our excitement for this new beginning was tempered by something that's been on our minds.
We analyzed which groups were most likely to drop out during our Venture Building program's selection process. And guess what? No surprises here: it was women.
The gender gap in startups is real. But why?
The problem isn’t new, and it isn’t just ours. Women remain significantly underrepresented in tech and entrepreneurship, and the numbers tell the story.
?? In 2023, only 13.2% of startup founders were women (Carta).
?? In Europe, all-women-founded startups secured just 2% of total VC funding (Atomico’s State of European Tech).
?? And despite increased discussions on gender diversity, the percentage of women in tech roles has remained stagnant at around 25% for the past decade (Forbes).
We could list many possible reasons (such as cultural biases, lack of representation, risk aversion among investors when it comes to funding women-led startups, or systemic barriers in networking and mentorship), but the truth is, there isn’t a single answer.
What we do know is this: fewer women in startups and innovation isn’t just unfair, it’s bad for business. Startups with diverse leadership teams perform better, raise more funding, and drive greater innovation. Research consistently shows that companies with gender-diverse leadership teams achieve higher profitability, better employee retention, and stronger innovation outputs (McKinsey & Company).
Yet, despite all the evidence, the pipeline remains broken. And we see it firsthand, whether it’s in the selection process of our own Venture Building program or in the broader startup ecosystem, women remain underrepresented and underserved.
This is why we’re bringing this conversation here, because nothing changes if we don’t talk about it.
Let’s not just acknowledge the problem. Let’s start fixing it.
