2023-04-17 09:54:00
There is still a long way to go towards gender diversity in tech, judging by the figures which persist in stagnating from year to year, in particular in terms of financing. Thus, only 12% of the total amount raised by French tech was captured by startups founded or co-founded by women in 2021, according to the latest barometer from Sista, an NGO that supports women entrepreneurs in the face of financing issues.
In other words, the vast majority of funds are raised by exclusively male teams… A glimmer of hope exists, however. “ There are more and more women starting businesses or partnering with men to start businesses in tech “says Alexia Reiss, executive director of Sista. In fact, 24% of start-ups are now founded or co-founded by women, according to the association. ” We can hope that, in the coming years, there will be a real impact on financing, especially since startups co-founded by a man and a woman raise on average 1.4 more than those founded only by men. “, she says.
Change the brand image
« Twenty-five percent of our companies have female co-founders “, testifies Marie Brayer, partner of Fly Ventures, a fund which invests, across Europe, in startups, in particular deeptech, at a very early stage. ” As we invest in companies whose founders have technical backgrounds, we see a lot of engineers and PhD students, where there is indeed a very male population. “, she adds. But not everywhere…” In Eastern Europe, where we have a lot of deal flow, it’s 50-50 between men and women. There, the rate of female engineers is not as low as here “, she observes.
So there would be a pipe problem. ” Ten years ago, it was complicated to recruit in tech because we didn’t exist in the economic landscape and, to exist, a form of caricature was created on what working in a startup means », Analyzes for her part Maya Noël, general manager of France Digitale. An image of a “geek” in basketball exercising very technical professions, in short.
However, this is far from being the reality of the sector, with very varied professions – technical, of course, but also commercial or customer service, for example. “ There is a real challenge of demystifying what this ecosystem is because we have entered a phase of maturity where we need a lot of diversity and not just developers and an ultra-elite. There is therefore a real brand image to change in the way we communicate on this ecosystem. », considers the head of this association of French digital startups and investors. A way to remove a barrier to entry.
Conversions
« Opening up to diversity, diversity, parity, is a real added value for tech agrees Romain Paillard, co-founder of Le Wagon coding school. As part of these trainings, the more diversity we have, the more richness we have, since people come with their baggage and their previous experiences, all of which are different. We have former truck drivers, boilermakers and even monks “, insists the co-founder of this network, created nine years ago and which has so far trained 20,000 people in its 40 campuses around the world.
In its ranks, Le Wagon has 54% of female employees, 40% in technical positions, says Romain Paillard, while women represent 30% of former students. And the leader to estimate that ” it is a fundamental role of vocational and lifelong learning to take over as a social equalizer. What school and college should be like – even if he fears, in the long term, ” a hierarchy within the tech professions between a kind of elite and small hands who would exercise ‘second class’ professions ».
Schools that open up opportunities for people in retraining are precisely one of the solutions explored by Delphine Barthe to recruit. The founder of Stirrup, a platform that connects owners of vacant homes and emergency housing assistance associations, has hired two employees from the Rocket School, a sales and digital marketing school. ” This brings added value to the startup today “, she says. “ Inclusion goes through training, recruitment and support programs “, adds the one who participated in the launch of a business club, called Present, to increase the visibility of Lille tech women and create role models. The founder of “Airbnb solidaire” was, among others, accompanied by Sista. The association, in fact, regularly puts into orbit promotions embarking twenty entrepreneurs in search of funds.
Indispensable proactivity
« It is necessary to put oil in the cogs at all the places of the mechanics “Abounds Maya Noël, to make girls and women want to pursue a career in tech. At school and within the company, through recruitment and skills development. Another track, mentoring, to learn, for example, to cultivate one’s charisma.
Finally, more gender balance and diversity requires proactivity. ” Often, when you set up a business, time is short and the first instinct is to turn to your network to recruit sums up Maya Noël. Enough to maintain the vicious circle… The leader of France Digitale is convinced of this: “ You don’t have to attract talent, you have to seek it out! “, she says. Not to mention initiatives such as the Parity Pact, launched last year by the French Tech Mission to advance gender equality within the ecosystem of French startups, which should also bear fruit. According to a progress report published on the French Tech website, 83 French Tech Next40/120 companies from the 2022 and 2023 promotions have signed this pact which includes five commitments, including that of having at least 20% of women on the board. administration of the company by 2025.
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