--- ---  # Women Drive Wealth. So Why Is Equity Still Inequitable? ## Video: 2023 TIME Women of the Year Red Carpet: Gender Equality [Watch (HLS stream): 2023 TIME Women of the Year Red Carpet: Gender Equality](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7NjQ5ZAO.m3u8) (3:45)  _Published 2023-03-09. Women and some notable men gathered from all over the world to celebrate International Women’s Day in Los Angeles on Tuesday for TIME’s second annual Women of the Year gala._ by [Shelley Zalis](https://time.com/author/shelley-zalis/) ## Shelley Zalis Mar 27, 2023 11:00 AM UTC  New York Stock Exchange, Wall street, Manhattan, New York, USA New York Stock Exchange, Wall street, Manhattan, New York, USAMatteo Colombo-Getty Images by [Shelley Zalis](https://time.com/author/shelley-zalis/) ## Shelley Zalis Mar 27, 2023 11:00 AM UTC I spend every day working with leaders trying to close the gender gap. As a founder myself, we’re up against it. What gets headlines is the fact that only [2%](https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-vc-female-founders-dashboard) of all VC funding goes to women, and less than 1% to women of color. While the math doesn’t lie, we’re focused on the wrong stat. We can’t allow this to be the accepted reality because this number is a reflection of today’s make-up of venture investors. It’s time to change the equation. This isn’t just a gender equality issue; it’s also a business imperative. The key fact is that women drive wealth. Emphatically. Let’s make the invisible visible: Research shows that women-led startups outperform their male counterparts, generating [63% ](http://10years.firstround.com)more value and [twice](https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/why-women-owned-startups-are-better-bet) as much per dollar invested. The [Rogue Women’s Fund](https://roguewmn.com/) also found that women-led startups are five times more likely to become billion-dollar companies compared to male-led businesses. Proof that money is being left on the table when women founders are overlooked. Venture capital has historically been a male-dominated industry, with [95.5%](https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/2022-all-in-female-founders-in-the-us-vc-ecosystem) of U.S. VC firms having majority male decision-makers, leaving only 4.5% of firms with majority women decision-makers. At the Sun Valley Conference this year, only 10% of attendees were women. It’s hardly surprising that if men control the check-writing power, they’re more likely to bet on male founders. --- ### More from TIME --- When you lift the veil off the important role that women play in driving wealth, and the dominant role they play in driving funding toward women founders, a strong business case is undeniable. More importantly, any confidence gap narrows. Yet it begs the key question: Why are VC firms not hiring or promoting more women partners? You must bring the power of a pack of people to break a pattern, and [studies](https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/journal%5Fposts/women-vcs-invest-in-up-to-2x-more-female-founders#:~:text=At%20the%20Kauffman%20Fellows%20Research,overall%20economy%20and%20job%20growth.) show that when women are at the table, they’re twice as likely to invest in women founders than their male counterparts. Diversity begets diversity, giving way to a new investment strategy, and, ultimately, a new story. Let’s reimagine what’s possible when you add the female factor into the equation, recognizing the power of diversity to drive better outcomes for all. By ‘outcomes,’ I’m not strictly referring to ROI. It’s about ROE—return on equity—when representation is about the strength in numbers it takes to drive real change. The investment community has a huge opportunity and responsibility to ring the closing bell on tradition and rewrite a new normal—one where the collective minority can be greater than the current majority. As with any transformational change, it will require a conscious, concerted decision, and action to change the equation and close the gap. The question should not be: Why is only 2% of VC funding going to women founders? The question should be: Why are only 16% of decision-makers at VC firms women? Women Drive Wealth. So Why Is Equity Still Inequitable? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6266154/women-drive-wealth-so-why-is-equity-still-inequitable/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6266154/women-drive-wealth-so-why-is-equity-still-inequitable/"},"headline":"Women Drive Wealth. 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