That's a wrap! WiRL have just completed our first in person panel at The Care Show on a subject close to our hearts, the inequity around access to funding for females and other underrepresented groups in securing capital.
Chaired by our Director/Board Member Lizzie Pillinger we were joined by an amazing panel of Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers Charity, Hannah Thomson CEO of The Joy Club, Ioto Iotov, Founder and Managing Partner of Main Set and Niamh O'Connor, Partner at Summix.
Why this subject?
The question and issue was raised at a WiRL networking event where Debbie Harris from Autumna asked if we could cover this subject and as a member driven organisation we took up the challenge.
The topic itself, when you dig into the detail, is alarming. The underrepresentation of this group in securing funding is low, really low.
Figures vary around success rate but it's usually between 1% and 4% and the overall volume of funding is lower than for male led applications.
The Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee recently wrote that “More work is required if we’re to maximize the entrepreneurial potential of women in Britain. The reward on offer is huge, with the Treasury itself estimating that up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the British economy if women in the UK started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men do".
So, why are we as a country missing out on this £250 billion boost at a time when we need it so desperately?
We started with identifying the problems and some of these included Dana Kanze's research that found that female founders are treated differently by investors, e.g. receiving two thirds downside questions vs male founders who receive two thirds upsides questions.
The panel discussed the fact that only 1% of funding is going to female entrepreneurs. More than 90% of decision makers are white male and this isn't representative of society.
There is a significant underrepresentation of female investors and lack of females at senior levels, and the situation is getting worse with less venture funding and a reducing number of businesses being started by women, now down to 15%.
Karolina discussed the fact that in social care more than 80% of the workforce are female and as you go up the ladder this reduces and men get fast-tracked into leadership roles. This evidently impacts on women keen to start their own business. We need to show women that it can be done and provide positive role models to help encourage women to take that first step.
Niamh and the rest of the panel talked about how it was up to women to be role models and promote and grow younger women. Hannah talked about a positive mentor who became the first investor in The Joy Club.
We also heard about good examples of men who have supported women in building their business. Mentoring and support are vital from both men and women for those starting.
The importance of acknowledging the role of shared parental childcare was also discussed with assumptions that this is a female role needing to be addressed.
"Gender needs to leave the conversation! It should not matter" Karonlina Gerlich
One anomaly is how women can be described as having to show more grit and determination and resilience but still struggle with accessing funding, however as all the panel agreed, these are the characteristics that can be the difference between success or failure so let's use them!
Really interesting point from Ioto around the outcomes of more diverse leadership teams and better performance: Net IRR improved by 3% for female led businesses and if it gets to Investment Committee via a network then 13 times more likely to be approved.
Should women try to assimilate to help their case?
The panel agreed that you have to be your authentic self whether that's not dropping the F bomb to fit in and dressing as you feel comfortable rather than trying to blend in.
"It's important for female leaders to stand out and be memorable as themselves" Hannah Thomson
One idea to counter downside questions was to use a reverse state of play when answering the risk question. Answer the question but reply with the opportunity as well. We can’t ignore where we are and need to play the game to move things forward.
There is a wider responsibility for Government here, intervention and / or regulation to hold allocators to account would be really helpful in this space.
How do we fix the problem?
At WiRL we are seeking equity with male led systems and looking at allies who can support women and other underrepresented groups to progress and prosper and would welcome any further conversations on this and other topics so we can build a sector better representative of society.
Written by Charles Taylor
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