If The Shoe Fits: First Round’s Survey Is Not Encouraging
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.
I said Tuesday that I wasn’t holding my breath in hopes of change when it comes to harassment in the workplace.
I blamed two main reasons, one societal and the other legal, but KG sent me an article yesterday that diminish the likelihood even more.
The articles cite an annual survey done by First Round on various topics, such as hiring, compensation, funding, etc. Last year they added diversity and inclusion and this year they added questions about harassment.
The companies are venture-backed and from all over — the Bay Area, New York, Los Angeles and other parts of the US.
Every year, we survey as many venture-backed startup founders as possible to figure out what it’s like to run a technology company right now. This year, we got more responses than ever before — 869 — giving us an even more precise pulse on what entrepreneurs think, feel, fear, and value.
These founders are the bosses of tomorrow’s tech sector, which doesn’t bode well.
As you can see they aren’t kids who are likely to change their attitudes when they “mature.”
55% have been in business for three to five years. Nearly 60% have an all male board and slightly more than half say their team is “mostly male.”
Actions speak louder than words and most don’t have any formal policies regarding diversity and inclusion or harassment.
Maybe I’m missing something, but there’s nothing about the majority of these new “leaders” that changes my mind regarding the likelihood of real change.
Image credit: HikingArtist and First Round
