According to the study results, around 83 percent of all startup foundations in Germany are made up of all-male teams. Among startup employees, the proportion of men is also significantly higher at more than 60 percent. The situation in France is hardly any different: 4 percent all-female, 12 percent mixed, and 84 percent all-male teams. It is notable that in companies founded by female teams, the proportion of women is 62 percent, while in startups founded by men it is only 35 percent.
The study authors analyzed 700 German and around 1,000 French startups, using the Dealroom database and LinkedIn. However, it should be noted that the analysis only included startups that received venture capital financing between 2012 and 2016. In a sense, this provides a view of the past.
“Women are significantly underrepresented in the startup scene”
In Germany, startups in the partner search sector have the highest proportion of female founders at 50 percent, followed by the fashion industry at 29 percent and the children sector at 25 percent. In contrast, no female founders could be identified in the hosting, music, recruitment, semiconductor, and legal sectors. In France, female founders are most strongly represented in the wellness and beauty industry at 25 percent, followed by the children sector at 20 percent and gaming at 18 percent.
The industry distribution is likely also related to the company valuation of female and male-founded startups in Germany: those with all-male founding teams are valued at a median of 21 million dollars, startups by mixed founding teams at 20 million dollars, while all-female startups are valued at only 6 million dollars.
Among employees of German startups, women form the majority in the fashion sector (58 percent) and education (52 percent). Startups in the robotics (19 percent), gaming (19 percent), and dating (12 percent) sectors have the fewest female employees.
“Women are significantly underrepresented in the startup scene both as founders and as employees – across all industries, technologies, and business models”,
says study director Theresa Treffers from the Chair of Strategy and Organization at TU München.
“We know from social psychological studies the causes of the lack of gender diversity. Men are perceived by capital providers as more suited for the entrepreneur role. Additionally, there are too few female students in STEM subjects, who are typically considered as founders and employees. The proportion of women in STEM studies is only around 30 percent.”
