We're Sick of Talking About the Gender Funding Gap. Let's Talk About the Rigged System Instead
Let’s skip the part where we politely present the statistics as if they are a surprising new discovery. Let's dispense with the hopeful platitudes about "making gradual inroads." We've seen the numbers. We've heard the excuses. And frankly, we are sick and tired of talking about it.
The venture capital "funding gap" is not a gap. A gap is an empty space that can be filled. This is not empty. It is an actively guarded, systematically reinforced wall.
For years, we've been told the story of a meritocracy. But new data proves what so many of us have known in our gut: the system is not just broken; it's working exactly as it was designed to. This isn't just an article. This is a reality check.
The Data Doesn't Lie: We Are Going Backward
Let's start with the cold, hard numbers. According to a devastating new report from PitchBook, the state of funding for women is not just stalled; it is in a freefall.
In 2025, companies founded exclusively by women have received just 0.7% of all VC funding in the U.S. That’s down from an already abysmal 2% last year and is the lowest percentage since 2013.
The percentage of deals going to startups with at least one woman founder has fallen from 27.8% in 2021 to 23.4% this year.
The first quarter of 2025 saw the lowest deal count for this group in over a decade.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble, recently described meeting countless young women who have been snubbed by investors. “They don’t just have an excellent deck or an excellent pitch — they have real numbers. They have sales... And they just can’t get anyone to take a meeting with them,” she said. By contrast, she added, young male founders will recount raising millions based purely on “an idea.”
Gaslighting in the Glass Tower: The Excuses vs. The Reality
For every statistic, there is a well-rehearsed excuse from the venture capital world. Let's deconstruct them.
The Excuse: "It's a pipeline problem."
The Reality: 93% of VC decision-makers are men. As Mary Boryslawska, CEO of Enzum, noted, throughout months of fundraising meetings, she has yet to meet a single woman VC. A 2020 study confirmed that this imbalance is itself a primary cause of the funding gap, as it reinforces systemic gender biases.
The Excuse: "We invest based on merit."
The Reality: Identical pitches get different results. A lab experiment by INSEAD found that when presented with two identical pitches—differing only by the founder's gender—investors judged the women-founded startups as less competent.
The Excuse: "We're worried about risk."
The Reality: They're worried about maternity leave. A 2021 study found that male VCs question female founders more about "risk," while focusing on "growth" with male founders. As Boryslawska states bluntly, “Investors genuinely are afraid that we are going to go on maternity leave.” Youth is seen as a superpower for men like Zuckerberg and Gates, but a biological risk for women.
The "Niche" Myth: The Trillion-Dollar Market VCs Are Ignoring
Beyond personal bias, there is a massive, systemic failure of market analysis within the VC industry. Investors often dismiss products and services designed for women as "niche," despite enormous market opportunities.
This isn't just a missed opportunity; it's a $1.7 trillion financing gap for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises globally. Data continually shows that female-founded startups outperform their male-founded counterparts, generating higher returns per dollar invested. Yet, the bias persists. The very act of creating a solution for 50% of the world's population is often deemed too small a market by a homogenous group of investors. It is a profound and costly failure of imagination.
Enough. Here's What's Next.
We're sick of talking about the problem. We're sick of citing the statistics. We are done politely asking for a seat at a table where we are not welcome.
The path forward is not about finding a better way to ask for permission. It is about building our own tables. It's about formalizing our own networks, creating our own funds, and championing each other with a ferocity the old guard cannot ignore. It's about taking the rage we feel and channeling it into building a new system, on our own terms.
When Mary Boryslawska was advised to appoint a male co-founder for an easier ride with investors, she had a simple answer.
“No, I think I’d rather go down."
That is the spirit. That is the new playbook. We are done asking. We are now building.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the gender funding gap really getting worse?
Yes. According to the latest data from PitchBook in June 2025, funding for all-female founded companies in the U.S. has dropped to just 0.7% of all venture capital, the lowest level since 2013.
Why do female founders receive less funding?
The primary reasons are systemic and interconnected. They include a massive gender imbalance in venture capital (93% of VCs are men), unconscious (and conscious) bias that leads to different lines of questioning for men and women, and a tendency for investors to dismiss markets and products designed for women as "niche."
What is the "meritocracy myth" in venture capital?
The "meritocracy myth" is the idea that venture capital is invested solely based on the quality of the business idea. However, multiple studies and a mountain of anecdotal evidence show that funding decisions are heavily influenced by gender bias, where identical pitches from women are judged more harshly than those from men.
