In 2017, 17% of startups have a female founders

The percentage of startups that have at least one female founder was flat in the first quarter of 2017.

From 2009 to 2012, the percent of venture-funded companies with women founders increased by nearly 8 percent; however, the percentage of women-founded venture-backed companies has plateaued at approximately 17 percent since 2012. And as we look at Q1 2017 data, that percent doesn’t appear to have changed.

For those who are keeping track, that’s nearly five years with no percentage growth in women-founded venture-backed startups.

The absolute number of companies (along with the total number of startups) with a female founder grew more than fivefold, from 176 in 2009 to 932 in 2016. This 2016 result will grow as more women-founded startups with an initial funding are added to Crunchbase over the next year.

Many organizations have been formed to address challenges that female founder and underrepresented minorities face. Female-founded companies are raising less as an overall percent as they move through seed, early and late-stage venture. Across all funding stages in 2016, $10 billion went to companies with at least one female founder contrasted with $94 billion invested in male-only founder teams.

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