Ladies stay under-represented in VC {industry}

BENGALURU: Ladies stay considerably under-represented in India’s enterprise capital (VC) {industry}, particularly in decision-making roles, regardless of rising conversations about variety and inclusion. An evaluation of the funding groups at India’s most lively VC companies, when it comes to quantity throughout years 2023 to 2025 to date, reveals how stark the gender hole stays.
Among the many 20 most lively VC traders that TOI analysed, a number of companies haven’t any ladies in any respect of their funding groups, together with Z47, Stellaris Enterprise Companions, and Nexus Enterprise Companions. Peak XV Companions has the very best absolute variety of ladies traders, with 13 out of 44, whereas companies corresponding to Blume Ventures (6 out of 23) and Accel India (5 out of 25) have comparatively higher illustration. Nonetheless, companies like Lightspeed Ventures (4 out of 16) and Elevation Capital (7 out of 33) nonetheless mirror the broader industry-wide problem — ladies are outnumbered at practically each main agency.
This lack of variety in VC groups has penalties past illustration. “Peer networks play an enormous position in hiring and decision-making in VC,” mentioned Ankita Vashistha, founder and managing accomplice at Come up Ventures. “Most senior hiring relies on referral. Funding committees and basic companions are predominantly male, and unconscious biases can form whom they rent and fund. This has a direct influence on the startup ecosystem, as male-dominated VC companies are sometimes much less more likely to again women-led startups.”
Kanika Mayar, accomplice at Vertex Ventures, echoed this sentiment. “The issue isn’t simply on the prime. We’d like extra ladies getting into the funding area in any respect ranges, so there’s a sturdy pipeline for management roles. Corporations have to be intentional about hiring and retaining ladies in VC. It’s not nearly numbers — it’s about constructing an ecosystem that actively helps numerous views.”
In accordance with PitchBook, within the US, ladies made up 18.4% of funding decision-makers at VC companies in 2023. In Europe, the state of affairs is starker, with solely 16% of funding companions being ladies.