The Post-#MeToo Landscape
“Oh, honey, your numbers look great. Who did them for you?” Yes, it really is that bad; our respondents reported
dismissive investors, groping engineers, and “just other
bros in the industry
being gross.”
53%
of respondents experienced harassment or discrimination in their capacity as founder.
of women seeking funding experienced bias during the fundraising process.
62%
58%
50%
27%
The worst harassers, according to our survey:
Investors and bankers
Vendors or suppliers
Employees or subordinates
Almost none reported taking any formal action. Instead, most chose to end their professional relationships with the harasser or to confide in peers.
I was basically told I was too female, too old, even too blond: 'You do not look like a CEO.'
Jules Pieri
Co-founder and CEO of consumer product retailer the Grommet
Investors don’t
believe that women
of color in tech can
build IPO businesses,
in part because there
are no examples. If they
don’t see us succeeding,
it is hard to believe we can.
Ramona Ortega
Founder of personal finance startup
My Money My Future
There were times that investor meetings turned into unwanted ‘dates.’
Avani Patel
Founder and CEO of TrendSeeder, a fashion-focused startup accelerator