Nearly half of startups backed by some of the UK and Europe’s top VC funds have zero women on the board, trailing bigger firms

• Almost half of startups backed by top UK and European VC firms lack female board members, data shows.
• It means startups trail the 350 biggest listed UK firms, which hit 40% female board representation.
• The need for diverse leadership is “not being addressed rapidly enough,” the cofounder of ESG_VC said.

Startups, though often promising to disrupt the status quo, are well behind larger firms when it comes to female leadership.

Nearly half of startups currently backed by top UK and European venture capital firms lack any women on the board, new figures show.

Some 45% of startups backed by the likes of Balderton, Lakestar, Molten Ventures, Beringea, MMC, and Highland have zero female board members, according to a new report from industry group ESG_VC and the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA).

The data comes from 16 VC firms in the UK and Europe and covers 450 companies in their portfolios. The report also found that 15% of the startups included had no female employees in senior management positions.

Startups have long lagged behind public companies when it comes to diversity. The FTSE 350 saw off its last all-male board in 2021 and met the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s target for women to make up 40% of boards three years ahead of its 2025 deadline. However, some public companies have been slammed for appointing women to predominantly non-executive roles.

“Startups are grappling with how to translate positive intentions into concrete actions when it comes to board-level diversity,” said Henry Philipson, marketing director at Beringea and cofounder of ESG_VC.

The analysis showed some progress had been made, as more companies now offer dedicated training and recruitment programs that focus on diversity and inclusion. 

“However, these initiatives lay the groundwork for long-term change and the immediate need for diverse leadership is not being addressed rapidly enough,” Philipson added.

Separate research previously reported by Insider indicates that when startups do diversify their board, they promote existing female staffers in a pre-IPO rush. 

Some founders intentionally set out to build a diverse board, though women hold just 13.5% of top investing roles in European venture capital, per 2022 data from VC firm Atomico. 

Michelle You, a serial founder who now runs UK climate-tech startup Supercritical, told Insider that she aimed for a 50/50 male-female split as she built her startup. For her first funding round, she turned down checks from men to ensure there was sufficient room for women investors, though they took longer to source.

You said this “balanced starting point” helped her keep her investor base diversified for Supercritical’s subsequent funding round.

“There are more self-organized groups of female investors, there’s more of a network around it, and last time, it took a lot longer to get those additional women on board compared to now,” she told Insider at the time.

Investors have an important role by providing access to resources and networks to ultimately make progress faster, Philipson added.