OPENING SHOTS


THE TECH INDUSTRY And needs t


T


THE LOUISE DOHERTY COLUMN


Louise Doherty comes up with some ideas to solve a pressing problem


16 SME


here are simply too few women in the tech industry and, as a result, the industry is failing to reach its


full potential. Cindy Padnos, founder of Illuminate Ventures, has gathered data from 100 studies on gender and tech entrepreneurship, and she concludes: “When you have gender diversity in an organisation, you have better innovation, and I don’t know where innovation is more important than in the hi-tech world.” Catalyst studied the link between


gender diversity in senior management and company financial performance in Fortune 500 companies. It found that women in leadership roles increased


Return on Equity (ROE) by 35% and Total Return to Shareholders (TRS) by 34%. A study by PwC showed that 42% of


female board directors (but only 24% of male directors) considered racial diversity important. The turnover rate is 22% lower for companies with diverse teams, according to Cumulative Gallup Workplace Studies, which also found that companies with inclusive cultures recruited more talent. So, it’s clear; the tech industry needs


more women now, and in the future, if it is to reach its full potential. And here lies the problem: it has a serious lack of pipeline. Less than 15% of European start-ups are


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