One aspect that was not really discussed and that I find extremely important is intersectionality. We are talking about women—all women. We all know the phrase, “show me the money.” Money is the sinews of war. To own and grow a business, one needs money, but money lenders are still very often—too often—men. In the venture capital world, decisions are primarily made by men. The questions they ask women looking for a loan are always heavily focused on risk, while men looking for a loan are usually more geared toward potential and growth.
As far as argumentation skills go, women are already at a disadvantage, unfortunately. There could be training and supports offered in that regard as well so that women could learn to navigate through all of that. We should also take into account the fact that decisions are primarily made by white men who are more hesitant when they are addressing women, especially in traditionally male-dominated sectors, such as everything tech-related.
So there is this incorrect assumption that these investments are riskier. However, statistics show that women are just as, if not more, successful than men. It is only a matter of training women to improve their argumentation skills. The groups who make decisions regarding loans also need to be trained and diversified so that their decisions are not biased against women—think of a black woman in the AI sector, for instance.
It is crucial to start talking in more positive terms to encourage women to do this.