Dads, Daughters and Dreams
Less than 10% of venture capitalists are women; only 13% of angel investors are women;Â and less than 6% of venture-backed businesses are women-led.
Those are just the numbers.
The stories behind the statistics are even more compelling. There’s sometimes anger, but usually it’s a makeshift mask for the deep sadness that women feel (and I include myself) as we wonder why our dreams aren’t created equally.
Then I arrive home.
Photo credit: Peter Werkman
And it’s a given.
My husband dares to me to dream — ever and always.
Rarely am I grateful.
Though I’m becoming more so.
As I meet women who are ready to dare, and the men in their life, frequently the gatekeepers (including the husband) aren’t quite there. I remember, oh yes, my husband, is.
My 11 yr-old daughter gets this view of the world too.
Will she want to start and invest in businesses — I don’t know: her dreams are her own.
What I do know is that her father, one of the most important gatekeepers in her life, is opening the door to her possibilities.
For that, I am — always and ever — grateful.
To my wonderful husband, and to all door-opening men everywhere — Happy Father’s Day!
***
How are the men in your life teaching you to dream?  Some may be showing you how, some may be making it difficult — there is so much to learn, isn’t there?
For more on the topic of investing in women and women investing, see I Look for Women Founders Because It’s an Advantage featuring @500 Start-ups’ Dave McClure, Racism and Meritocracy by Lean Start-up guru Eric Ries, Weekend Imagination Igniters by leadership thinker Wally Bock, and Why Technology Needs Women by Anil Dash.  Â
Thanks for writing. I have two daughters. Know what their limits are? Only the ones they put on themselves.
I co-founded an angel group in Chicago. 20% are women and we have a woman for an MD. No one has Tge market cornered on good ideas.
The world changes slowly within generations, but rapidly across them.
Max Planck once said, “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
I have a radically different world view than my parents, who in turn had a radically different world view than their parents. I have no doubt that my children will someday view me as a dinosaur…a fact that should please me. It shows that they’ve grown and moved on.
@ Carter I take my hat off to you for being a forward thinker! @ Chris Yes, change takes time after the education process kicks in. Whitney, I looked up the statistics for Women Engineers, whose numbers are similar to VC/Investor types (from what I was hearing). It surprised me to see the Women in Engineering statistics were higher then I anticipated. So, change is in the works, because of the discussions and awareness like your blog. Thanks for calling this to our attention and the coaching to help us change.
This is so great! I resolve to also be more grateful.
Yes, there is definitely change in the works.
I like that Chris — “the world changes slowly within generations, but rapidly across them.” Very true. I’d like to think that every once in awhile a new idea “does” convince its opponents, but even disruptive innovation theory suggests otherwise. Opponents aren’t convinced until they are toppled.
Go Dad! And Moms!
Hi Whitney
Great piece. In my interviews with women innovators they often talk about their having a closer relationship with father than mother. The dads encouraged them to dream big & follow those dreams. Maybe we need to focus on letting dads know how important they can be in fostering strong daughters who are innovators and entrepreneurs.
This is the most direct and powerful text I have seen underlining the importance of Dads, Daughters and Dreams. Thank you so much for that. We have two Daughters and all lived in the UK, USA and France. Our daughters believe in themselves and can adapt to new situations and use positive thinking. As a Dad, the only thing I can say it this: when a man is the best ambassador of himself (valuing honor, courage, compassion, good humor, charity, respect of women) then he can be a beam of hope and a teacher of dream catching for his Daughter/s
Pascal
We must also allow girls to dare to dream to be mothers. A heroic mother I know was a civil engineer. She worked and had a great job in a male-dominated career. When she had her first child she stayed home with him. When her parents, who thought she was wasting her education, asked if she might go back to work when her kids were older, she replied that as her kids got older they would need her more than ever. Women must be allowed to dream any dream and that is why there are not as many women working in these financial and engineering careers. They WANT to be raising the next generation.
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