Bringing Diversity into VC: From Excluded to Included
In October 2019 I was accepted to the first ever cohort on the Included VC fellowship. There were over 1,500 applicants for 30 spaces for this 12 month programme that aims to level the playing field and give everyone a fair shot at getting into VC.
The European VC industry is formed largely of investors with comparable work, educational and life experiences. Certain talented individuals from different groups (i.e — ethnicity, gender, disability, refugees, LGBTQ+) are often overlooked.
The 2019 Included cohort is made up of 60% women with 16 nationalities represented and 56% reporting as black, Asian or mixed.
I recently returned from the first in-person summit, as the programme works with fellows across Europe, we mostly meet remotely and am still buzzing with the inspiring people I had a chance to spend time with. Looking back at the weekend I have some thoughts around what inclusion means and how it can apply to not just the VC industry, but company culture in general.
Including Parents
Coming from the start-up world, I was terrified that having a child was a sign of weakness, or even worse a sign that you weren’t committed to company. I had my son in 2018 and after taking 4 months of maternity leave, I was made redundant a day after returning to work. It made me question a lot about my capabilities as someone who is professionally ambitious, as well as someone who wants to be a parent that is present. I was a bit worried, when I asked to bring my son to the summit that it would seem unprofessional or cast me in a negative light, particularly since 83% of UK VCs have no women on their investment committees.
Not only was it a non-issue to bring Baby W along, he was welcomed by all. What I valued most about being able to bring my son (and of course husband to look after the baby) was that Included didn’t see me as being less ambitious just because I also have a family to take care of. This programme, and the terrific people behind it, get that we don’t lead cookie cutter lives, but that doesn’t make us any less capable.
Including Women
I don’t know if I am allowed to share unpublished stats from the Included application process, but the overwhelming majority of applications came from men — yet 60% of the cohort is female.
Included used a blind selection process, hiding all mentions of names, genders and universities to level the playing field.
In an industry known for it’s lack of gender diversity, it was surprising being surrounded by so many other women. The majority of investors were the “Henrys” as they were affectionately nicknamed for their lack of diversity. What I found to be particularly interesting was during a deal flow simulation the lack of knowledge the men had around women and contraception. We can’t all be experts in everything, but it highlighted very poignantly why diversity is important — Different perspectives in the room can share knowledge and make better informed decisions.
Including Difference
I think most surprised me about the weekend was how a room full of people who have incredible different backgrounds would make me feel about diversity. I consider myself a champion for diversity but I was also confronted with the reality of how my own world has narrowed. As the first cohort of Included, who knows if this programme will be a success, but I am eternally grateful to be on this journey with such a remarkable group of people
Studies repeatedly show that diverse organisations perform better, and Included VC is one way that is aiming to get the industry there faster.
Shout outs to Notion Capital leading the way on Included VC and Nikita Thakrar for being the force of nature that has made this happen — and thank you to all the investors involved in the initiative Point Nine Capital, Creandum Team, Daphni, Seedcamp, Enern, K Fund and Mangrove Capital Partners.
