Glasswing Commits to the Challenge for International Women’s Day

The 2021 theme for International Women’s Day, #ChooseToChallenge, has a different sense of action and urgency from past themes. To state the obvious, 2020 was a challenging year for many in our economy, with women, especially Black and Latina women having been dealt an unfair share of difficult hurdles. In fact, multiple sources indicate women’s unemployment to be four times higher than that of their male counterparts. The startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem are no different. According to this recent Forbes article, “…just 26% of female founders reported having at least 12 months of runway, compared to 38% of male founders. That number drops to 19% for female founders of color.” The International Women’s Day theme of #ChooseToChallenge is a call to everyone to not just support but to step up and play an active role in ensuring equality.

As a minority-owned firm, Glasswing Ventures has always been committed to improving gender equality across the start-up ecosystem in both words and actions. “#ChooseToChallenge” speaks to our souls, as it is in our DNA to set goals, measure our progress, and push for outcomes. In order to fight biases that are ingrained and often subtle, we must actively choose to challenge by being vocal and brave in calling them out and instituting change. This can result in a myriad of actions, big and small.

In the spirit of overt behavior and action that International Women’s Day is calling for, the Glasswing Team reaffirms its commitment to supporting women of all backgrounds in the startup ecosystem and beyond, as well as in our personal and professional encounters.

Each member of the Glasswing family is making a commitment today on how we #ChooseToChallenge:

“The necessity for having women in leadership roles — on boards, in startups, and across our entire ecosystem is paramount. We choose to challenge by making this our first conversation in all our funding interactions with startup companies; we are committed to ensuring it is top of mind.” — Rudina Seseri

“Only 20% of the cybersecurity workforce is women. There is a huge opportunity for innovation in the security realm through inclusion. We are choosing to challenge this male-dominated field and are committed to mentoring additional women-led startups in this critical and essential field.” — Rick Grinnell

“Many women in the start-up ecosystem begin their journeys on the outside of established networks that can provide an advantage to their male counterparts. We choose to challenge closed networks and will continue to foster new connections and mentoring for women through organizations such as All Raise.” — Sarah Fay

“Helping combat gender bias and discrimination means heightening awareness and challenging your own thinking.”#ChooseToChallenge — Carol Meyers

“International Women’s Day is a reminder of how much talent is still underutilized and how much untapped potential there is, and this is why we choose to challenge the underrepresentation of women in the investment and startup communities.” — Vlad Sejnoha

“To Glasswing, the value of a gender-equal, and more broadly, a background-equal world is priceless. We are committed to making sure all voices at the table are heard — it is critical to success in society, in technology, and in business.” — Kleida Martiro

“At Glasswing, choosing to challenge means we view all our actions through a critical lens — one of helping forge an inclusive world.” — Ali Mahmoud

“Choosing to challenge for us means being accountable and ensuring we meet meaningful milestones in our pursuit of gender and background equality.” — Emma Marty