gender bias when you pitch dana kanze

Did you know female founders face bias in how venture capitalists ask questions and are often negatively impacted when their products fall in a male-dominated industry?

These are two separate findings of Dana Kanze, Ph.D., that add to a growing body of research that quantify gender discrimination in attracting investors. After all, women receive a paltry 2.3 percent of venture capital — women of color even less, according to the Harvard Business Review

A little-known fact about Kanze: She started her career as an entrepreneur before pivoting to academia where she earned a doctorate at Columbia Business School. Kanze experienced firsthand what it meant to be equally qualified but sometimes sidelined. This experience contributed to her interest in researching why this common phenomenon happens. 

Now a professor at London Business School, her groundbreaking research focuses on the unconscious gender biases that many women experience daily. Kanze provides actionable tips for female entrepreneurs on how to beat these often subconscious but harmful biases on this episode of SheVentures.