Women Entrepreneurs Project
The Silicon Valley has given birth to many of the world's most important technological innovations in the twentieth century, shaped in large part by the entrepreneurial spirit that dominates the high tech industry. The region currently benefits from more than 25% of the nation's venture capital, registering the highest dollar amount invested in the greatest number of deals since 2002 - a total of $6.3 billion in 856 deals. Despite this enterprising environment, women remain under-represented in high-growth firms. Women are not securing venture dollars at the rate we might expect. Why?
Our study asks three primary questions: 1) What accounts for the small percentage of women-owned venture-backed firms? 2) What role does technical experience and education play in the ability to secure venture capital? And, 3) What are the primary factors that drive the decision-making of venture capitalists? We will examine primary barriers and pathways to success for women entrepreneurs through an online survey and face-to-face in-depth interviews.
Women are under-utilized in high tech companies, big and small. Moving beyond the platitudes and generalizations of self-help manuals that dominate popular discourse on this issue, the Institute aims to ground the future of women's entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley in hard data. Women's successful entrepreneurship can provide the engine for Silicon Valley's continuing growth and innovation for the benefit of the local and national economy in the long term. Our aim is to provide individual women, venture capitalists, and industry leaders in Silicon Valley with the facts they need to make equal use of women and men's power to innovate.
Research Team
PI: Professor Londa Schiebinger
Research Director: Dr. Andrea Davies Henderson
Postdoctoral Research Associate: Dr. Justine Tinkler
National Center for Women and Information Technology
The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) is a coalition of more than 100 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits working to increase women's participation in information technology (IT). NCWIT believes that women's participation is a compelling issue of innovation, competitiveness, and workforce sustainability, and its work connects efforts along the entire pipeline, from K-12 and higher education through industry and academic careers.
NCWIT Entrepreneurial Heroes is a series of magazine-style audio interviews highlighting women entrepreneurs in information technology (IT) careers, sponsored by the NCWIT Entrepreneurial Alliance and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The series features 15-minute interviews with approximately 20 women IT entrepreneurs chosen from among more than 100 nominations. Listen as these successful, creative, and technical women discuss their lives and their work -- how they first get into technology, why they chose to be entrepreneurs, and what advice they would give to young people interested in IT or entrepreneurship. Visit www.ncwit.org/heroes to listen.
The Clayman Institute is proud to be a member of NCWIT's Entrepreneurial Alliance. For more information, visit www.ncwit.org/who.all.entrep.html