Is there Diversity in European Tech?
Diversity is still an issue within European tech, it’s no secret. But what do the stats say? I take a look at the statistics and numbers to give you an overview of diversity in Europe in the tech industry. There are a number of reports that I based my findings on, Atomico’s State of European Tech Report, data from European Women in VC, a report by Extend Ventures Diversity Beyond Gender.
Representations Statistics in Europe:
- In the UK 75% of founders come from advantaged socio-economic backgrounds
- In Germany, only 20.3% of startup founders are women
- In the UK, 86% of angel investors are men
- The pay gap was worse than the national average at approximately 66% of UK unicorns
- All-female teams accounted for 10% of rounds less than £5 million in the UK in 2022 (6% in 2021)
- All-female teams accounted for 9% of rounds less than £5 million in Germany in 2022 (5% in 2021)
- All-female teams accounted for 7% of rounds less than £5 million in France in 2022 (3% in 2021)
- The amount raised by UK startups with one female co-founder in 2022 was £3.6 billion in 2022 (£2.9 billion in 2021)
Startup Statistics in Europe:
- 24% of male founders stated getting capital was their biggest challenge in 2022, compared to 36% of female founders.
- Access to capital was stated as being the biggest challenge by 56% of ethnic minority founders, while 41% of white founders stated the same.
- A staggering 75% of LGBTQ+ founders felt they had to hide their identity from their investors.
- Women founders pay themselves 25% less than male founders.
- Female startup employees earned 70p compared to £1 by their male counterparts in the UK in 2022.
- Women in UK tech are paid 30% less than men. It’s 16% less in France, and 23% less in Germany.
VC Statistics in Europe:
- In 2022, a mere 1% of VC funding was given to all-women teams
- According to a 2022 survey by European Women in VC, 15% of VC general partners are women in Europe.
- In the UK only 0.25% of VC funding was given to Black founders between 2009-2019.
- Only 10 female Black founders in the UK received funding between 2009-2019.
- 0.7% of unicorn funding is raised by ethnic minority teams.
- 1.4% of unicorns are founded by ethnic minority founders.
Things are moving in the right direction across the European tech industry, but the numbers are nowhere near where they should be. When statistics show that women led businesses tend to do better, than all-male teams it’s a shame that the investment numbers don’t reflect this.
What are your thoughts on this? What would you like to see happen in the European tech scene in regards to diversity?
Read more: Over 20,000 Black women “missing” from the UK tech industry