By Marte C.W. Solheim

Have you heard about the diversity imperative for impact?

Did you know that companies with at least one woman in the founding team are now more than twice as likely (+103%) as their all-men counterparts to run an impact company; diverse teams are more and more important for impact development?

Despite that, and also how the data from Fortune 1000 companies demonstrate the great value creation in female-lead companies (only 5% of Fortune1000 companies have female owners, however, they still produce 7% of the value creation)…….and….., we still see that in the Nordics, all-men founding teams were allocated 88,2% of all capital deployed during 2021. Mixed teams secured 10,7% and all-women founding teams a meagre 1,1% (Unconventional ventures).

What are the causes (drivers and barriers) explaining this? And what are the consequences?

That and much more, is what I presented yesterday at a large event in Stavanger, Norway organized by DNB bank. The event is part of a series held at many different cities in Norway, and is targeting women under the campaign #Huninvesterer ( which translates into She Invests). More than 500 women were gathered to learn more about how and when to invest, in what they could invest, when and how to start (spoiler alert: the time is now!), and also more broadly discussing the geopolitical tensions and challenges that are affecting the stock market.