Laying the groundwork for an equitable startup ecosystem
Improving the accuracy of evaluation processes for greater gender equity.
-
Lall and Miller Policy brief March 2023
PDF document • 289.08 KB
- Research suggests investor behaviour – particularly discrepancies in how all startups are evaluated – can help explain why women-led startups raise significantly less capital than men-led startups of similar quality.
- Evaluating startups inconsistently reduces the accuracy of evaluations, leading investors to overlook promising women-led startups.
- The data suggest that adding three steps into evaluation frameworks can help investors and accelerators conduct more consistent, comprehensive, and data-driven evaluations across all startups, unlocking more opportunities for women-led companies.
- As architects of nascent and early-stage startup ecosystems, policymakers can include more accurate and equitable evaluation processes as a pillar of their local ecosystems.