TSome progress has been made, but not enough. In the world of startups, gender equality is still a mirage. According to the data reported by the specialized portal Venturebeat.com in the world on average, only 15% are female founders of innovative startups. With Europe which, with 12.6%, ranks in the penultimate place in the ranking. On a par with Latin America and ahead only of the Middle East and North Africa area. Not only. As reported by Financial Times98% of venture capital funding is aimed at male-dominated businesses. The situation remains difficult, but it is when the going gets tough, as they say, women keep playing.
Female startups, the Italian situation
And in Italy? It’s not bad (but it could be better). On the base of V National report on female entrepreneurship, produced by Unioncamere, businesses led by women are only one in 5 (22.2%). Innovative startups with a female founder are just over one in 10 (12.6%). Overall, as revealed by the Dealroom.co portal, they have an enterprise value of 2 billion euros, with an average percentage of 16%. However, this puts us in second place, behind Finland (23%) and above the average value at European level (8%). In the last 5 years Italian scaleups have had a growth in enterprise value equal to +34.5%. While, at a European level, in 2022 investments by players active in the venture capital market in startups led by women decreased by 20% to 4.1 billion euros.
Certification for gender equality in the company is fine but more is needed
«Italy as a country system suffers a strong gap regarding the role, involvement and commitment of women within corporate organisations». Elga Corricelli explains it as she is co-founder and supervisor of Women in Action. LifeGate Way’s female acceleration program (together with Ventive) dedicated to women who wish to innovate in the field of sustainability.
There certification for gender equality it has already been obtained by over 450 companies, indicating that this social need is increasingly widespread.
But «To ensure full equity, however, it is not enough to simply increase the share of women present within the top management of the company”, continues Corricelli. «We need to start building the pillars of a true cultural evolution. TOthrough training and awareness-raising projects on the topic of systemic participation of women in the workplace”. This is precisely the ambition of Women in Action: «to support and bring out female talents, focusing on the abilities and real needs of innovators and creating a solid and passable system of skills”.
Women in Action, how to join the female acceleration program
How will the Women in Action program develop and what are the phases? From 15 November 2023 to 14 February 2024 interested female, entrepreneurial and innovative companies will be able to send their application on LifeGate Way website.
A qualified jury will select 16 companies, divided between startups (10), teams of students (3) and new entrepreneurs (3). These, on 8 March 2024, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, will then be able to present their ideas, products and services during the Women in Action Day. The 5 best “in pink” companies will then be announced (3 startups, 1 team of female students and one of new entrepreneurs) who will be able to participate in the Women in Action acceleration program.
A 3-month training course, with networking activities and coaching courses. The objective is to accompany new entrepreneurs in the sustainable growth of their business, helping them to perfect the business model and training the soft skills necessary to emerge in the competitive arena of large Italian and international companies.
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