Originally published in Entrepreneur Magazine

By Freada Kapor Klein

The belief prevails in Silicon Valley that we have created a meritocracy, an entrepreneurial utopia where the best and brightest always come out on top. I’m here to tell you: That is a pernicious myth.

The latest data point from a Bloomberg analysis reveals that nearly 1,900 U.S. entrepreneurs received venture capital funding for their startups, 2009-2016. Of those, just 141 were women.

So, then, you have to ask: Which women? Because things are even worse for women of color. A recent report from #ProjectDiane showed that from 2012 to 2014, African American female founders effectively received next to no venture funding. Of the 10,238 funding deals during that period, only 0.2 percent (24, total) went to African American women entrepreneurs.

What’s happening here? If you believe that entrepreneurial capacity and talent are evenly distributed by gender and race, then why is there this vast difference in how men versus women, versus women of color, are able to tap venture funding?

Read the full story at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/277950

Freada Kapor Klein, PhD, is a partner at Kapor Capital,  a Kauffman Fellows  faculty member and mentor, and a founding team member of Project Include.