Women under-represented in Silicon Valley venture capitalists
WHEN she started her child-support tracking business SupportPay, Sheri Atwood expected all kinds of suggestions — but not a tip she got from a female investor who suggested she dye her blonde hair darker to be taken more seriously by venture capitalists.To Ms Atwood, who eventually got funding from other backers, the recommendation highlighted an attitude in Silicon Valley that women make second-class entrepreneurs. If more women held the purse strings at venture capital firms, the attitude would change, she said.Despite the lip service Silicon Valley has given over the past couple of years to the need to recruit more women venture capitalists, at senior levels the industry’s gender balance hasn’t budged, even as other industries with poor gender diversity show improvement. It matters because women venture capitalists have a direct effect on the success of companies other women launch, say female entrepreneurs, including serving as role models and being more likely to spy potential ...
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