Fannie:Well, Spiffy, did you realize that our online world is gender-biased? For example, only 18% of biographies on Wikipedia are about women, despite thousands of women meeting Wikipedia’s notability standards. In digital news platforms, only one-in-three-mentions of a person is a woman, in part because the search algorithms used by journalists to find sources to interview overrepresent men. Over the long-term, this gender gap in online representation shapes our beliefs of what women can accomplish by amplifying society’s gender biases.
Renu:Thanks so much for having me, Spiffy. Well, according to the 2020 World Economic Forum report, India stands at 149 of the 153 countries surveyed in the economic participation and opportunities for women. At STEP we are trying to build a gender equitable world where all women entrepreneurs are empowered. Our purpose is to create a supportive environment for women-led early stage (social) startups to help them survive the initial phase which is the most difficult part of one's entrepreneurial journey. Our mission is to support 1,000 such enterprises over the next ten years.
Ashley:It’s wonderful to talk to you, Spiffy. So, this summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to join VamosVentures, a venture fund with a mission to invest in companies led by diverse founders. Latinx and Black founders received only 2% of the total funding that went to founders last year. More surprising is that founders of color are 30% more likely to experience a lack of capital and relevant networks. The stats are similar for female-founded companies. At Vamos, we want to improve these numbers and pave the way for diverse founders to have access to capital, networks, and other pertinent resources. Our driving force is our belief that there's extraordinary entrepreneurial talent in diverse communities.
