The VC factor
date: 20/12/2023
On October 24, 2023, EIF and Invest Europe jointly released the study 'The VC Factor – Gender Lens Edition,' offering data-driven insights into the gender diversity landscape within European Venture Capital (VC).
This collaborative effort between EIF and Invest Europe sheds light on the gender diversity trends among investors and entrepreneurs in the European VC ecosystem. The report reveals that between 2011 and 2021, only one in ten founders and CEOs receiving VC in Europe were women. On the investor side, one in seven high-profile VC investors in Europe was a woman.
While capturing only a slice of the workforce, the data paints a representative picture of human capital in both VC firms and start-ups, especially in high-ranking positions. However, gender diversity poses a persistent challenge, with women holding a mere 12.2% of roles in start-ups and 23.1% in VC firms.
Over the past decade, high-ranking positions in VC firms have seen a modest increase in female representation, from 9% in 2011 to 12.5% in 2021. Mid-level roles remain stable, with a slight uptick, while low-ranking roles show a slight decline. In startups, women held 10.5% of founder and CEO roles in 2021, up from 6.7% in 2011. This progress underscores the ongoing gender imbalance in the European VC ecosystem, emphasising the need for sustained efforts toward greater inclusivity.
