Seven organizations in Venture Capital launch Diversity Data Alliance
Diversity VC, All Raise, 2Gether-International, BLCK VC, Somos VC, StartOut and Vets in Tech Release Whitepaper to Standardize Demographic Data Collection
May 15, 2024 — San Francisco, CA — Today, seven organizations focused on diversifying the tech ecosystem have announced they have joined forces to form the Diversity Data Alliance. The alliance aims to leverage its collective industry data to identify and fill funding gaps for underrepresented investors, founders, and operators.
Representing multiple underrepresented groups in tech and VC, the alliance settled on a set of data to capture across each of their respective organizations, starting with a uniform approach to demographic data collection. The group began standardizing its demographic data collection and creating an agreed-upon data format in the spring of 2023 and finalized implementation in the spring of 2024. See the paper outlining this approach.
This alliance was created because the venture capital and entrepreneurship communities remain fairly homogenous, with limited representation of historically marginalized persons with regard to race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, educational attainment, religious and military affiliation, and more. For several years, various organizations in the venture capital and entrepreneurship ecosystems have collected data and published reports highlighting the continuing inequity of capital allocation and access to resources within the industry. However, to date, the underlying data and analysis have been siloed by the demographic focus at each individual organization. Further, establishing connections between them — such as who is funding whom — has remained out of reach.
“I am incredibly proud of the work and commitment from these seven organizations to come together to standardize data for the collective good of our joint mission of bringing diversity and inclusion to the venture and startup ecosystem,” said Sarah Millar, COO Of Diversity VC and a founding member of the Diversity Data Alliance. “By standardizing our data and linking it together, we could uncover some yet-to-be-seen connections between funders and founders and see trends across communities. Further, we can measure the effectiveness of our programming and track trends over time to help all of our organizations better serve our communities.”
With this new standardization, data sharing across these organizations becomes possible as information is now compatible. The alliance is inviting others to join this effort.
Here is what the group had to share:
“We can’t change what we do not measure. This initiative is fundamental in advancing our shared goal of fostering a more diverse venture and tech ecosystem.” — Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise
“Standardizing demographic data collection is a pivotal step towards creating a more equitable venture capital landscape by creating data integrity. Better quality data means we can accurately track against our goals to diversify the venture ecosystem. BLCK VC is proud to partner with other organizations through the Diversity Data Alliance, so we can collectively drive meaningful change and foster greater inclusion in the venture and tech ecosystem.” — Naima Warsame, COO of Black VC.
“At SomosVC we are transforming the face of venture capital. With Latinos/as representing just 1.6% of investors in the venture capital ecosystem relative to the 19% of U.S. demographics, data helps us keep the industry accountable. Standardizing, synthesizing, and leveraging insights from our collective can help ensure that every investor is represented regardless of their background.” — Mariela Salas, Executive Director of SomosVC
“Our research at StartOut has shown that only 0.5% of VC funding goes to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. However, one thing we’ve been curious about is how much funding goes to underrepresented intersectional entrepreneurs and this type of improved demographic tracking will be vital for us to understand this underreported community and further underreported metric. We are excited to be part of the Diversity Data Alliance to collectively agree upon how to request demographics in a thoughtful manner. Each organization in the collective brings their unique perspective and lived experiences. We are excited to deepen our relationship with the other ecosystem builders to provide and share best practices and better understanding of the communities we represent.” — Irene Tang, Director of Data and Insights at StartOut
“We are thrilled to announce our foundational and active role in the Diversity Data Alliance, which aims to gather, analyze, and standardize data across the venture capital sector. VetsinTech remains committed to highlighting the significant contributions of Veterans and Military Spouses in this field. By collaborating with outstanding partners and founders, we can truly make an impact.” — Ikram Mansori, COO of VetsinTech
“As the Founder, CEO and Chief Disabled Officer of an organization dedicated to supporting Disabled Entrepreneurs with tools and resources to thrive, I’ve seen firsthand the gap in data on funding for underrepresented founders, especially for founders with disabilities,” said Hardly any data on investment capital awarded to founders with disabilities exist, but with the Data Diversity Alliance, I trust we can help to flip the narrative and shine a light on both the needs, and accomplishments, of this business community.” — Diego Mariscal, CEO & Chief Disabled Person at 2Gether-International
This work represents an opportunity to build the most comprehensive, detailed data set on diversity in tech to date and work with public and private industries to share diversity data and progress. The alliance encourages all groups collecting data to follow this standard format — collecting comprehensive and compatible data across organizations to then be centralized in one accessible database.
Those who wish to join the coalition should download the guide for data collection and implementation.
To learn more about Diversity Data Alliance visit: https://www.diversitydataalliance.org/
About Diversity Data Alliance (DDA):
The Diversity Data Alliance is a coalition of organizations working across the VC and startup ecosystems to build the largest, most comprehensive, and most intersectional data set on diversity in VC and startups. Originally conceived by seven non-profit organizations in early 2023 (Diversity VC, AllRaise, 2Gether-InternationaL, BLCK VC, Somos VC, StartOut and Vets in Tech), the group has developed a standard methodology for diversity data collection built with human-centered design and inclusivity from the start. The DDA is in the process of building a platform to facilitate clear and easy data collection and reporting for VCs and the founders they invest in. To learn more about Diversity Data Alliance visit: https://www.diversitydataalliance.org/
