KPIs for Tech Startup by Women

In Europe, a region of 27 countries with some of the most digitally-intensive economies in the world, women are still more likely than men to have

• no or low digital skills;
• less access to the internet and online digital platforms;
• significantly lower employment as IT professionals; and
• low single-digit participation as founders of technology-driven enterprise.

For this reason, Key Performance Indicators that monitor progress toward digital equity in entrepreneurship, by supporting an ecosystem for digitally-enabled and digitally-driven entrepreneurship by women, are critical. Such KPIs may include the following:

1. Digital skills levels among girls and women
2. Number of women ICT specialists
3. Percentage of women-led technology-driven enterprises

STEM- and specifically technology-driven entrepreneurship by women is arguably the critical path for sustainable, economic development in the digital age. As such, a rationale is outlined below for refining and delivering on indicators linked to this opportunity.

Digital Equity in Entrepreneurship

When addressing under-representation of women as entrepreneurs in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is critical to consider several variables that impact their engagement from a digital equity perspective.

I. Promoting Women-led Digital Entrepreneurship

Relatively low participation of women in digital entrepreneurship and in entrepreneurship more broadly may reflect a lack of the minimum digital skills required to participate as entrepreneurs in the digital economy, and a shortage of women in digital/STEM sectors overall. At both extremes, a persistent lack of digital skills among women, reinforced by stereotypes that entrepreneurship and ICT are "man-bastions," creates double indemnity for women-led digitally-driven as well as digitally-enabled startup, latter which is arguably almost any kind of entrepreneurship today.

Digitally-enabled Entrepreneurship: Technology-enabled entrepreneurship relies on digital tools and skills to launch, maintain and often scale an enterprise in the market. Such tools can be as “simple” as a website, smartphone app, administrative and productivity tools for finance/accounting, marketing/CRM, etc. Or they can be as complicated as logistics, supply chain and ERP systems. “E-commerce” represents the bundling of such tools and platforms, as well as payment systems, outbound and inbound marketing, etc. For this reason, enabling an enterprise for e-commerce can create a critical lifeline for startup, scale-up, and steady-state business in sectors that are customer-facing, business-to-business, and beyond. 

“Digitally-enabled” can also refer to digital tools that provide access to enterprise funding, e.g. crowdfunding platforms; fin-tech, including cryptocurrencies or blockchain; online procurement and project application and administration tools, etc. A lack of skills to digitally “enable" an enterprise with these kinds of tools can therefore create barriers to entry and scaling for women across the board, and also in far-flung, rural areas. Conversely, digital skilling of women, including in rural areas and in typically “non-digital” sectors like agriculture, could create entrepreneurship opportunities for women that may not exist otherwise.

In some sectors, like banking and finance, “technology-enabled” may understate reliance of an enterprise on technology, and the line separating enterprises that are “tech-enabled” and “tech-driven” blurs. For purposes of the present, however, this distinction is useful.

Digitally-driven and Tech-driven Entrepreneurship: The global dearth of women in STEM studies, and in Computer Science in particular, results in especially low percentages of women-led entrepreneurship in STEM—“STEMpreneurship,” or “ESTEAM” (Entrepreneurship and Arts powered by STEM). In Europe, it is estimated that 10 percent of tech starters are women, though actual numbers may be even lower. Under-representation of women in formal Computer Science studies and in entrepreneurship means that technology-driven startup by women is a KPI worth tracking for its “canary in the coal mine” quality, and its signaling of a worrisome lack of engagement of women entrepreneurs in the digital economy. 

STEM- and specifically technology-driven entrepreneurship by women may be the critical path for sustainable development in the digital age, and therefore a valuable indicator of the health and vitality of the global digital economy.

Tracking women-led tech startup can help monitor progress in building a strong, supportive entrepreneurship ecosystem for women, including access to funding, skills, mentorship, etc.; and success at growing a cohort of women researchers, developers and innovators in STEM. STEM- and specifically technology-driven entrepreneurship by women may be the critical path for sustainable development in the digital age, and therefore a valuable indicator of the health and vitality of the global digital economy.

In this connection, it may also be useful to mention the technology bias in funding, where a majority of VC spend, for example, goes to technology-intensive entrepreneurship and again, presents women entrepreneurs with an additional barrier-to-entry. It is also worthwhile to note the increasing technology-intensity of STEM studies and research, which may also result in an obstacle for women to enter these areas, and itself creates a Catch-22 scenario. Digital skills are needed to study STEM, and the lack of women studying STEM results in less digital innovation by women.

Ultimately, one may argue that low or no digital skills among women—plus stereotypes, policies and funding patterns that reinforce these norms—creates unwelcome barriers to entry, and possibly to scaling and growth, for women-led entrepreneurship across all sectors, and in STEM especially. Policies that seek to eliminate these barriers would also have to address participation in STEM studies by girls and women, STEMpreneurship by women, and equity in entrepreneurship overall.

II. Beyond “Access”: Advancing Digital Equity Maturity

Increasing access to digital technologies by women, also for women-led, digitally-enabled and digitally-driven entrepreneurship, is a primary consideration in designing policies to address digital inequity. In the era of digital disruption by innovations in mobile communications and high-speed computing in the cloud, access to digital technologies alone, though necessary, may not be sufficient to ensure full participation of women as entrepreneurs in the digital economy. To this end, it may be useful to articulate a digital equity “maturity curve” for defining KPIs that measure the increasing engagement of women over time, initially via access to digital technologies, and ultimately through assuming equal leadership with men in the digital society.

Access to Digital Technology: By definition, giving girls and women equal access to digital technology means ensuring they have as much opportunity to take advantage of digital media and tools, including Internet, telecoms, online platforms etc., as that enjoyed in society by boys and men. Factors influencing access often go beyond technical infrastructure to include social norms, stereotypes and traditions regarding capital ownership of all kinds.

Utilization of Digital Technology: Beyond access to digital technology, a minimum level of digital literacy is desirable to ensure that, once they have access to it, women can utilize digital technology and undertake the kind of digitally-enabled entrepreneurship described above, including for the most geographically dispersed and financially vulnerable groups of women.

Creation of Digital Technology: Ensuring that girls and women become digitally skilled at an intermediate or even expert level supports their ability to contribute as creative actors in the digital economy, including as researchers, developers, innovators and leaders in technology-driven entrepreneurship. 

Leadership in Digital Sectors: Policies that promote digital equity in entrepreneurship should ultimately have as their objective increasing leadership by women and girls across the board—in politics, the economy and society—in the Digital Age. To this end, policies to increase participation of women in decision-making should take into account the added dimension of digital equity, and therefore include specific KPIs related to leadership in digital sectors and in digital entrepreneurship.

III. Disrupting the “Leaky" Digital Pipeline

The Leaky Digital Talent Pipeline: The so-called "leaks” in the digital talent pipeline are well documented. When young women enjoy formal education at all, they are seriously underrepresented in STEM studies, especially ICT, at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Adult women with STEM educations are challenged to remain in and advance to leadership roles in these sectors long-term, again especially in ICT. There is also a dearth of women of all ages as leaders in STEM in academia, industry and policy. As noted, these factors influence the participation of women in STEMpreneurship and as entrepreneurs overall. 

Robust effort to stimulate digital equity in entrepreneurship must therefore also include action on the following fronts:

• Formal education for girls across the board with a focus on increasing their participation in STEM, especially Technology, studies;
• Digital skills education for girls and women of all levels, promoting them as IT experts, entrepreneurs and leaders; and
• Policies to promote women in leadership roles across the board, including in enterprise, and especially in digital sectors.

The Digital Disruption: The rate of economic and social transformation brought about by the digital disruption means that a response to digital inequity—including, and perhaps most important, for women-led entrepreneurship—must be comprehensive and forthcoming on short-order. The advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence poses an immeasurable risk for increasing the digital gender divide and gender inequity globally. Addressing these risks requires targeted and sustained investment in programs that take advantage of best practices and that should themselves be acknowledged as Key Performance Indicators for digital equity, including:

• ESTEAM skills initiatives that are specifically girl- and women-focused
• Community and ecosystem development, including to support women in digital entrepreneurship and promoting digital “excellence” for girls and women
• Programs that promote female role models in digital sectors by recognizing and rewarding outstanding girls and women in digital sectors, including entrepreneurship
• Programs targeted at increasing the number of women IT experts, including through informal education and professional certification programs, in strategic digital fields like cloud computing, cybersecurity, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, software development, etc.
• Digital skills apprenticeship programs targeting mature, adult women to provide them with mentorship and financial and other long-term support on their path toward digital entrepreneurship

Leveraging the State of the Art for Digital Equity

There are many initiatives worth building upon in the interest of increasing digital equity in entrepreneurship and more broadly. Those that represent the state of the art are highlighted below. 

Ending (Online) Violence Against Girls and Women: Digital equity safeguards for women-led entrepreneurship should also address both the threat of and actual physical and psychological violence suffered by girls and women, including online. To date, the Istanbul Convention (Council of Europe Treaty 210) promotes the most comprehensive global standard protecting and defending the right of individuals to be free from (threat of) violence online and otherwise. The accession, signing and ratification of the Istanbul Convention may therefore be a valuable KPI for measuring global progress on eradicating gender-based abuse, violence and harassment, including online.

"Women Digital" Role Models: The digital disruption has transformed media and the concept of what a "role model" is, but the impact of role models on the notion of what, for example, girls and women can accomplish as equal actors in society, cannot be understated. As Geena Davis famously said, “if she can see it, she can be it.” In pursuit of digital equity in entrepreneurship, the role model “effect” for challenging negative stereotypes is critically important. The work of both the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and the Global Alliance on Gender in Media to leverage media of all kinds for achieving gender equality, has been invaluable in this direction and deserves attention.  

"Women in Digital" Scoreboard: Under leadership of Ms. Mariya Gabriel, then-European Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society and current Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Innovation and Youth, the European Commission developed a Women in Digital Scoreboard that rates performance of individual European countries in terms of women’s participation in the digital economy, based on seven criteria. The scoreboard currently does not address women-led technology-driven entrepreneurship, but does include an indicator for “women ICT specialists," as well as details on digital skills levels among women by age.

Gender Equality Indices: The European Institute on Gender Equality (EIGE) “Gender Equality Index” is a composite index, representing 31 indicators in eight domains, for monitoring a country’s progress toward achieving gender equality. In "Work" and “Knowledge” domains, these indicators also capture trends in STEM education and careers, for example, that impact the present discussion and may therefore provide a valuable starting point for KPIs on digital equity in entrepreneurship as well.

Leveraging Digital Equity for Sustainable Development

Grassroots Change: In order to increase digital equity across the board, the Digital Leadership Institute has innovated grassroots programs that address the barriers-to-entry women face in both digitally-driven and digitally-enabled startup. These initiatives aim to stimulate women's entrepreneurial capacities, increase their digital skills--including as experts, build a global ecosystem of partners and mentors to support them, and provide ongoing access to the skills and resources they require to become leaders in the digital society. These initiatives include:

• Move It Forward - female digital starter events that target teen and adult women with digital skills trainings and projects that address social challenges mainly impacting girls and women; global community-building, including online; mentorship and coaching by (women) role models; and local partner engagement and ecosystem activation for ongoing entrepreneurship support, including financial, skills development and mentorship.
• CYPRO - cyber professional training and apprenticeship program for women with work experience which relies on corporate partnerships and existing IT certification schemes (i.e. Cisco, AWS and Oracle) to develop women tech experts in cybersecurity, cloud computing, big data, machine learning, AI, etc.
• Ada Awards - Pan-European excellence community promoting top girls and women in digital fields, and the organizations that support them.
• Digital Muse - Volunteer-run, grassroots ESTEAM skills events for girls, delivering hands-on, result-oriented, role model-led workshops at the intersection of digital and creative endeavor, to inspire them to become STEAM entrepreneurs.

Policy Framework: Like the challenges facing women tech starters, high-impact grassroots initiatives to increase participation of women in digitally-driven and digitally-enabled entrepreneurship also require sustained support for scaling and replicating across Europe and beyond. This in turn depends on development and implementation of a coherent policy framework on women-led entrepreneurship for Europe, with a vision for engaging women as entrepreneurs in all fields, especially digital, and a commitment to funding the action necessary to achieve this vision.

Now is the moment to consolidate alliances for a "balanced Europe fit for the Digital Age" through coordinated effort to fully engage Europe's--and all--women as economic actors, and to deliver concrete actions that ensure their full contribution to sustainable development as digital entrepreneurs and innovators.