SANTA CLARA, Calif.,
March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon
Valley Bank (SVB), the bank of the world's most innovative
companies and their investors, today released its 2020 Women
in US Technology Leadership Report. The report reveals that
the gender parity gap persists for women in US tech
leadership, with 42% of startups having at least one woman in an
executive position and 40% have at least one woman on the board of
directors. The survey also found that 30% of US startups have a
program in place to increase women in leadership roles.
As part of SVB's annual Startup Outlook Report, the company
recently surveyed 691 tech and healthcare founders and executives
in the US to get a quantitative measure of how startups are doing
when it comes to opening paths for women to leadership roles.
"Clearly, there is still a lot of work to do. But I believe the
innovation economy is dynamic and open to making positive change,
which is why I continue to be optimistic," said Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. "We
know companies are more likely to thrive when they are made up of
individuals with different voices, experiences and backgrounds. We
encourage everyone in the ecosystem to support diverse teams."
SVB's Women in US Technology Leadership Report measures the
percentage of companies with at least one woman in a leadership
position and compares how startups' views of the innovation economy
differ based on whether a woman was on the founding team. Key
survey findings include:
- 42% of US startups have at least one woman in the C-suite and
40% have at least one woman on the board of directors
- US healthcare startups are more likely to have a woman in a
leadership role than technology companies. Fifty percent of
healthcare startups report at least one female C-suite executive
and 51% report at least one woman on the board of directors.
- 14% of US startups have a female CEO. For startups with a
female founder, 46% have a female CEO (often a startup founder
serves as CEO). Conversely, just 2% of startups with a male-only
founding team have a female CEO.
- The percentage of US startups with at least one female founder
has been growing in recent years, and now stands at 28% (from 22%
in 2017). Nearly four in 10 US healthcare startups have a least one
female founder.
- Startups with a female founder are slightly less likely to rely
on venture capital and slightly more likely to tap friends and
family for their next source of funding.
- A small percentage of US startups set hiring goals specifically
for women in startup executive positions (17%). Those companies
using goals more typically apply them companywide (36%) or to
attract female board members (33%).
- The survey also asked respondents to describe the types of
programs in place to increase the women in leadership positions.
The most frequently cited programs include a flexible work
environment and recruiting outreach and interview techniques.
The full report is available
at www.svb.com/women-in-technology/.
Follow the conversation on Twitter
at @SVB_Financial with #StartupOutlook
About Silicon Valley Bank
For more than 35 years,
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative companies and their
investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides targeted
financial services and expertise through its offices in innovation
centers around the world. With commercial, international and
private banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of
innovators. Learn more at svb.com.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-us-startups-lack-women-in-leadership-according-to-silicon-valley-banks-2020-women-in-us-technology-leadership-report-301016878.html
SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank