• Significant research on this topic has yielded strong evidence that diverse organizations outperform those that are less so. A comprehensive study by BCG shows that companies with above-average diversity in their management teams deliver 19 percentage points higher innovation revenues than those with below-average diversity (45 percent average innovation revenues vs. 26 percent). Another BCG study shows that although startups co-founded or founded by women are underfunded relative to male-founded companies, they actually perform better over time, delivering an average of $730,000 in revenue over a five-year period, a full 10 percent more than their counterparts. And, ultimately, they prove to be the better investment, generating 78 cents for every dollar of funding versus 31 cents for non-woman-founded companies.
• Despite this clear evidence, the tech sector in particular continues to struggle with DEI. Three striking findings underscore the depth of the problem in tech:
  • In 2019, 84% of funding went to male-only-founded startups, and the number of female-only teams declined in 2020 to 2.3% (also see here)
  • Women still only comprise 25% of tech workers
  • Although these facts are fairly well known within the ecosystem, startups are not taking action to combat them; only a quarter of respondents answered “yes” that their company has programs to increase diverse representation in leadership (“2020 Global Startup Outlook report” from the World Economic Forum).