PALO ALTO, Calif. – June 22, 2016 – Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), bank of the world's most innovative companies and their investors, released its Startup Outlook report on Women in Technology Leadership today at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The report is based on an annual survey of technology and healthcare startups and includes responses from more than 900 executives across the U.S., U.K. and China.
"In 2016, we saw that 46 percent of U.S. technology and life science companies had no women in executive positions, and 66 percent had no women on their boards of directors. That's a ratio that needs to change," said Claire Lee, head of early stage banking at Silicon Valley Bank. "Despite the stagnant data, I'm heartened to see new initiatives that are helping to increase and track gender diversity in the tech workplace and on boards. Focusing on inclusion and representation is a healthy endeavor for businesses of all sizes."
Highlights from the U.S. survey follow and are based on more than 650 responses from primarily private technology companies with fewer than 50 employees and less than $10 million in annual revenue.
Women in Tech Leadership
- 66% of startups had no women on their board and 46% had no women in executive positions
- 26% have programs in place to increase the number of women in leadership positions
Follow the conversation on Twitter at @SVB_Financial and @SVB_UK with #StartupOutlook
About Silicon Valley Bank
For more than 30 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides targeted financial services and expertise through its offices in innovation centers around the world. With commercial, international and private banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators.
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Contact:
Carrie Merritt
Silicon Valley Bank
503-574-3705
cmerritt@svb.com