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Why Berlin could be the hub for female founders
DW (English)
Follow
3/28/2025
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?
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00:00
It's less than 3% of venture funding goes to women-led teams.
00:05
And when you add in intersectionality, those percentages drop even further to less than
00:10
0.5%, which I always say is not a number.
00:14
In Germany, the share of corporate leadership positions held by women is tiny.
00:19
How attractive is Germany as a destination for female founders?
00:23
Less than a quarter of all established startups in 2024 were led by women.
00:28
And the number is only a little better in the corporate sector.
00:31
I definitely think that there is a less spoken about glass ceiling when we're talking about
00:36
women founders in the startup ecosystem.
00:39
Here in Berlin, you're seeing a lot of state-led initiatives, like the Berlin Startup Stipendium
00:45
having a woman-led fund, meaning that women founders in Berlin can receive non-dilutive
00:54
grants for one year to build their companies.
00:58
Berlin is the new startup destination in Europe and offers competitive advantage, a strong
01:03
tech presence and a diverse talent pool.
01:06
But there are concerns that this pool may shrink as European companies may take diversity
01:11
goals off the table following the lead from the US.
01:17
So ideally we don't need any of these rules, quotas, diversity initiatives and so on because
01:24
it's just very normal that it is diverse per se.
01:27
That's not the case.
01:28
Obviously, I think what people often are worried about is that these quotas take away from
01:33
any merit-based system.
01:35
So what they assume is that women are less qualified.
01:39
This is simply not true.
01:41
The barriers are not in terms of competences or abilities of these people, but the barriers
01:45
are really from much more institutional and structural sides.
01:50
While Germany has no strict diversity policy, it does have a fairness principle which leaves
01:54
no room for discrimination in terms of hiring.
01:57
On paper, everyone has an equal chance.
02:00
But this isn't necessarily true.
02:02
Ideally we want that no factors like race, sexuality, gender, etc. matter at all for
02:07
how people progress.
02:09
Even though we always say these diversity initiatives, you know, they're a waste of
02:12
time and they're a waste of money.
02:14
That's something that you often hear also in the private sector.
02:17
I do think that even just talking about the topic, like we are doing it now, or also bringing
02:22
these campaigns of awareness into companies can help.
02:26
So how important is it to have more women in decision-making positions?
02:30
For female entrepreneurs, it's crucial.
02:33
Gebra's non-profit, Founderland, is trying to bridge the gap between women and finances,
02:37
be it investors or grants or funds.
02:40
After working for years in New York, she moved to Berlin nine years ago with one goal.
02:44
To bring opportunities to women.
02:46
We represent nearly 700 women of color founders across Europe, building their businesses in
02:52
over 25 European countries.
02:55
There's a lot of immediate bureaucracy when it comes to forming a company here.
03:01
And I don't like to say that there's any one market or region that's better than the other.
03:08
But I will say, having had the experience of creating companies in the U.S. and now
03:13
also in Germany, I do find the approach to company formation in the U.S. a lot more streamlined.
03:22
In bureaucracy-heavy Germany, paperwork can drown those who want to set up new ventures.
03:28
For this, Gebra says, it's important to have a strong support system.
03:32
Women who can mentor and support new founders and help them navigate the complexity of red tape.
03:38
This idea of promoting women and bringing mentorship from women who have gone through
03:42
these experiences to other women, this is something that there's a lot of focus on.
03:47
For Europe, the U.S. is often seen as a leader in business practice, and what works there
03:52
often makes its way here.
03:54
And some are worried that the negative influence of axing diversity initiatives in Washington
03:59
will directly impact Europe.
04:03
It's incredibly disheartening to watch from here what's happening in the U.S. when it
04:08
comes to the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
04:14
When it comes to what diversity, equity and inclusion might look like this year or in
04:22
the coming years here in Europe, my hope and my bet is that Europe decides to take the
04:27
lead there as well.
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