The National Association of Venture Capitals released a demographic study today that was pretty anticlimactic. They discovered that venture capitalists in charge of investing money were white (88 percent) and male (86 percent.) But the trade organization was encouraged by the fact that 81 percent of junior venture capitalists (senior associates and associates) were weren’t white, leading to hopes that the VC population overall will become more diverse.
In the meantime, if you’re a member of a minority you’re far more likely to achieve the exalted general partner or managing director status if you have a PhD. Almost a quarter of non-whites and 81 percent of those born outside of the U.S. earned Masters or PhDs, compared with 62 percent of whites and 61 percent of U.S.-born VCs. As a friend of mine put it, if you can walk on water, you’re in. Nice.
3 comments so far
4:25 PM PT
I think you meant “were” instead of “weren’t” when referring to the 81 percent of associates.
6:51 PM PT
Deva, my bad. Thanks for pointing that out. It makes a big difference.
8:26 AM PT
it’s interesting social commentary to note that when you say “diversity” the broader population assumes you are talking about african american and hispanic demographics. In the tech world, diversity is more likely to be used to describe asian participation in a group.
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