Why Berlin could be the hub for female founders

DW (English)

In Germany, women still hold a small share of leadership roles—but change may be on the horizon. Will Europe follow the U.S. in shifting diversity and equality policies, or take the lead in unlocking the potential of female-led companies?

Transcript

00:00It's less than 3% of venture funding goes to women-led teams.

00:05And when you add in intersectionality, those percentages drop even further to less than

00:100.5%, which I always say is not a number.

00:14In Germany, the share of corporate leadership positions held by women is tiny.

00:19How attractive is Germany as a destination for female founders?

00:23Less than a quarter of all established startups in 2024 were led by women.

00:28And the number is only a little better in the corporate sector.

00:31I definitely think that there is a less spoken about glass ceiling when we're talking about

00:36women founders in the startup ecosystem.

00:39Here in Berlin, you're seeing a lot of state-led initiatives, like the Berlin Startup Stipendium

00:45having a woman-led fund, meaning that women founders in Berlin can receive non-dilutive

00:54grants for one year to build their companies.

00:58Berlin is the new startup destination in Europe and offers competitive advantage, a strong

01:03tech presence and a diverse talent pool.

01:06But there are concerns that this pool may shrink as European companies may take diversity

01:11goals off the table following the lead from the US.

01:17So ideally we don't need any of these rules, quotas, diversity initiatives and so on because

01:24it's just very normal that it is diverse per se.

01:27That's not the case.

01:28Obviously, I think what people often are worried about is that these quotas take away from

01:33any merit-based system.

01:35So what they assume is that women are less qualified.

01:39This is simply not true.

01:41The barriers are not in terms of competences or abilities of these people, but the barriers

01:45are really from much more institutional and structural sides.

01:50While Germany has no strict diversity policy, it does have a fairness principle which leaves

01:54no room for discrimination in terms of hiring.

01:57On paper, everyone has an equal chance.

02:00But this isn't necessarily true.

02:02Ideally we want that no factors like race, sexuality, gender, etc. matter at all for

02:07how people progress.

02:09Even though we always say these diversity initiatives, you know, they're a waste of

02:12time and they're a waste of money.

02:14That's something that you often hear also in the private sector.

02:17I do think that even just talking about the topic, like we are doing it now, or also bringing

02:22these campaigns of awareness into companies can help.

02:26So how important is it to have more women in decision-making positions?

02:30For female entrepreneurs, it's crucial.

02:33Gebra's non-profit, Founderland, is trying to bridge the gap between women and finances,

02:37be it investors or grants or funds.

02:40After working for years in New York, she moved to Berlin nine years ago with one goal.

02:44To bring opportunities to women.

02:46We represent nearly 700 women of color founders across Europe, building their businesses in

02:52over 25 European countries.

02:55There's a lot of immediate bureaucracy when it comes to forming a company here.

03:01And I don't like to say that there's any one market or region that's better than the other.

03:08But I will say, having had the experience of creating companies in the U.S. and now

03:13also in Germany, I do find the approach to company formation in the U.S. a lot more streamlined.

03:22In bureaucracy-heavy Germany, paperwork can drown those who want to set up new ventures.

03:28For this, Gebra says, it's important to have a strong support system.

03:32Women who can mentor and support new founders and help them navigate the complexity of red tape.

03:38This idea of promoting women and bringing mentorship from women who have gone through

03:42these experiences to other women, this is something that there's a lot of focus on.

03:47For Europe, the U.S. is often seen as a leader in business practice, and what works there

03:52often makes its way here.

03:54And some are worried that the negative influence of axing diversity initiatives in Washington

03:59will directly impact Europe.

04:03It's incredibly disheartening to watch from here what's happening in the U.S. when it

04:08comes to the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

04:14When it comes to what diversity, equity and inclusion might look like this year or in

04:22the coming years here in Europe, my hope and my bet is that Europe decides to take the

04:27lead there as well.

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