Women remain underrepresented at all levels of the corporate ladder, particularly in senior leadership roles.
A recent lawsuit, in which a former president at Insight Partners, a major VC firm, sued the company for gender discrimination and other workplace misconduct, has highlighted the ongoing diversity challenges women face in investing and other male-dominated industries. Investors warn that, in terms of diversity in VC funding, some of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries remain far behind.
European companies founded or co-founded by women have received a smaller share of total deals compared to previous years, shows the latest Pitchbook data.
In some CEE countries, funding for female-led companies remains exceptionally rare. Since 2008, women-founded start-ups in Europe have attracted 8.8 billion euros across 5,933 deals, based on the country where the companies are headquartered. However, in countries like Serbia, Latvia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Ukraine, there have been very few publicly announced VC investments in companies led by women.
When considering companies where there is at least one female co-founder, CEE countries also lag behind Western or Scandinavian ones.
According to Daiva Rakauskaitė, manager at Aneli Capital, a fund management company that supports CEE start-ups, one key reason is the region’s lower number of women-founded startups.
“VC is still a relationship-driven industry dominated by men, which means deals often stay within the male networks. In the CEE region, some investors are more conservative, and there are fewer women founders, which limits the opportunities for investors to support them,” Rakauskaitė explains.
“I believe women should boldly enter sectors traditionally targeted by VCs. If we also apply research showing that diverse teams generate more value, VCs could unlock the potential to create even more unicorns than before.”
A number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of women-led or diverse funds or companies. Harvard Business School showed that VC firms with 10 per cent more female investment hires make more successful investments at the portfolio company level and have 9.7 per cent more profitable exits, according to the Milken Institute report.
Meanwhile, a study by Grant Thornton found that diversity strategies in companies bring cultural benefits and an increase in innovation.
According to Rakauskaitė, CEE investors and start-ups could greatly benefit from diversity-friendly investment policies. However, she emphasises that the focus should be on the overall quality and values of teams, rather than just gender.
“Founders of start-ups must focus on delivering results and demonstrating that all genders matter equally when it comes to shaping the future of the industry. Gender should not be a limiting factor in talent recognition; what matters most is the strength of the team, their vision, and their ability to execute,” Rakauskaitė says.
Looking beyond women in the VC and investment space, the McKinsey report shows that for the 11th consecutive year, women remain underrepresented, especially in senior leadership, where they hold 29 per cent of C-suite roles.
The report shows that some problems may often arise already in entry-level positions. For example, 21 per cent of entry-level women are encouraged by their manager to use AI, compared to 33 per cent of men at the same level. This disparity likely contributes to the fact that just only 37 per cent of entry-level women believe AI will improve their career prospects, compared to 60 per cent of employees overall.
According to Rakauskaitė, this shows that the future of diversity ultimately depends on managers’ actions and their personal growth as quality leaders.
“Managers have a critical responsibility to support their teams’ growth in any field—be it venture capital, investing, or business. As we look to 2026, it is crucial that we not only continue to challenge the status quo but actively foster environments where all talents, regardless of gender, are equally recognised and nurtured. This, in turn, creates added value,” Rakauskaitė concludes.
Photo: Dreamstime.
