Earlier today, Adeo Ressi was featured on the Business Insider to shed some light on the tremendous disparity of female leadership in technology companies. In an article entitled "A Silicon Valley Insider Actually Has A Plan To Get More Women In Tech", Megan Rose Dickey explains the issues surrounding women's ability to find success in the field. Although the number of women in tech is growing, the gender gap still remains consistent, with roughly only 2 – 7% of company founders being female.
To aid in tackling this problem, the Founder Institute has implemented the Female Founder Fellowship – a scholarship that covers course fees and is given to one promising female graduate each semester in every chapter worldwide. The goal of the program is to encourage female founders to apply, which thus far has been highly successful. The total percentage of female graduates from the most recent Spring and Summer 2012 semesters was an astonishing 36% - a 62% increase from previous years.
Our goal is for the FFF Program to be a catalyst for change among other accelerators and incubators, however, the fundamental issue of gender bias within venture capital firms still remains. As the majority of investors are male, funding discrimination is an ongoing issue that can only be addressed when the playing field has become more level. Unfortunately, due to slow hiring processes within venture capital firms this movement towards gender equality in technology and leadership may be a lengthier process than one would hope.
Female Founder Fellowships are still available in Istanbul, Lisbon, and Barcelona. In order to be eligible for the Female Founder Fellowship, you must apply by the Early Application Deadline in your locale. The Institute will then select the most extraordinary female applicant who passes the Predictive Admissions Test, and subsidize their Course Fee. Click here to learn how you can get involved with the Female Founder Fellowship program.
To learn more, read the full article on the Business Insider and follow journalist Megan Rose Dickey on Twitter @meganrosedickey.
