It’s been nearly six years since the hashtag #MeToo went viral, unleashing a movement and a global wreckoning over sexual harassment and assault that women face in the workplace.
And yet, gender-related issues are still a concern in the private markets, according to Semaphore’s 15th annual confidence survey of private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, and other professionals. (Semaphore is a firm that takes over troubled private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds on behalf of limited partners.)
Approximately 69% of Semaphore’s 701 respondents from this year’s survey said that sexual misconduct, harassment, and gender bias are all still problems in the industry. While the numbers are high, they are down from years shortly after #MeToo went viral, when more than 80% of respondents were reporting gender issues to be an industry-wide problem.
Here are some of the specific things respondents had to say:
I’m a female fund manager and at any venture conference I’ve ever been to, the first question asked is what my role is. Not what are we investing in or anything asked to my male counterparts. I’ve started telling people I’m an admin assistant so I can stop talking to these people sooner lol.
These are systemic and cultural issues, but I believe that greater awareness is driving change.
There are still too many tech bros.
At my previous firm, I was the first female hired on the investment team (for a firm that had been around since late 90s). I was quite literally told by HR (in a business environment) that I dressed “too attractively” and that “on a team of all males, I should only want to be remembered for my brain”. This was in my first 6 weeks of work. As time went on, I learned that several partners had affairs with (now former) executive assistants. It’s really difficult to answer “how should this be addressed” when considering that this is a culture that is incredibly difficult to change, and will be somewhat slow to change, especially when management/those in a position of power are the perpetrators. I believe the best course of action is for us to make work decisions according to culture (aka I left that team and joined another firm). Now that I am no longer entry-level and am moving up the ladder, I am really dialed in to make sure things like this don’t happen at my firm. We need to make a culture that girls/women/others feel they have someone they can sound the alarm to if need be without repercussions. I really like anonymous reporting software tools for this.
Perhaps, but as a female I don’t personally see it.
Old habits die hard. Until there is a standard by which to operate by, they will persist.
In America everyone has a shot
It is a HUGE issue. The only way to really make a difference is by addressing our systemic core beliefs. Educate people, especially children in age appropriate ways at schools to respect others feelings and beliefs and to be respectful of those differences. No perfect solutions.
Because I have started to watch for it, and I see it regularly. Bias is hard to deal with, but misconduct and harassment are easily defined, measured, and prosecuted.
We are in a period of overreaction!!
Our team is almost entirely male and even though it’s a priority to change that we’ve had very little success to date.
Isolated incidents should not criminalize an entire industry.
I’ve heard the stories. And continue to hear them.
Here are some other highlights from this year’s Sempahore survey, which seeks to gauge how dealmakers are thinking about the industry:
– 23% of respondents are confident in President Biden, while 53% say they are not
– 51% have no confidence in Biden’s economic team versus 33% who are confident
– 0% of respondents had confidence in Congress with 71% expressing no confidence
– 62% had little or no confidence in U.S. national tax and spending policy with only 4% expressing confidence
– 24% of people are confident in State Government and Legislatures, while 41% have no confidence
– 30% of respondents think the current favorable tax treatment of Carried Interest income should be eliminated, while 70% say it shouldn’t
And here’s what respondents are saying about compensation:
If you’re interested in looking through the full results of Sempahore’s annual survey, you can find them here.
See you tomorrow,
Jessica Mathews
Twitter: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
VENTURE DEALS
- Faro Health, a San Diego-based digital infrastructure development company for clinical trials, raised an additional $20 million in funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by Section 32, Polaris Partners, Zetta Ventures, and Northpond Ventures.
- Fierce, a New York-based financial investment and management app, raised $10 million in seed funding. Pendrell, AP Capital, Wheelhouse Digital Studios, Space Whale Capital, and other angels invested in the round.
- Reshape Bio, a Copenhagen-based microbial research and development digitization platform, raised $8.1 million in funding. ACME Capital led the round and was joined by FundersClub, Y Combinator, and other angels.
- Ionblox, a Fremont, Calif.-based lithium-ion cell company, raised $8 million in additional Series B funding from Temasek.
- Mawari, a San Jose-based extended reality streaming platform, raised $6.5 million in seed funding. Blockchange Ventures and Decasonic co-led the round and were joined by Abies Ventures, Accord Ventures, Anfield, Outlier Ventures, Primal Capital, and others.
- VAULT, a New York-based digital music collectible company, raised $4 million in Series A funding. Placeholder VC led the round and was joined by AlleyCorp, Bullpen Capital, and Everblue Management.
- Tuned, a New York-based digital hearing health company, raised $3.5 million in funding, Distributed Ventures led the round and was joined by Idealab NY and MTS.
- Blip Labs Technologies, a New York-based bill management platform, raised $2.1 million in seed funding. Susa Ventures, Dash Fund, Shrug Capital, Wischoff Ventures, Picks and Shovels, Browder Capital, Rief Ventures, and other angels invested in the round.
- Wyndly, a Lakewood, Colo.-based at-home allergy testing and treatment company, raised $2 million in funding. Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, Civilization Ventures, Sweater Ventures, and Kevin Mahaffey invested in the round.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Prince Industries, an HC Private Investments portfolio company, acquired Precision Shapes, a Titusville, Fla.-based precision machining company for the aerospace, commercial, and defense industries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Wealth Enhancement Group acquired Washington Wealth Advisors, a Falls Church, Va.-based registered investment advisor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OTHER
- CVS Health agreed to acquire Oak Street Health, a Chicago-based primary care provider, for $10.6 billion.
- FNZ agreed to acquire International Fund Services & Asset Management, a Contern, Luxembourg-based B2B fund platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- M-Files acquired Ment, an Espoo, Finland-based document automation technology company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Sendinblue acquired Captain Wallet, a Paris-based mobile wallet marketing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOS
- Guizhou Guotai Liquor Group, a Guizhou, China-based white liquor brand, is considering a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise more than $500 million, according to Bloomberg.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS
- Bluestone Equity Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, raised $300 million for a fund focused on the sports, media, and entertainment industry.
- Planet A Ventures, a Berlin-based venture capital firm, raised €160 million ($171.68 million) for its first fund focused on European green-tech startups.
PEOPLE
- A16z Crypto, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based crypto investment arm of a16z, promoted Eddy Lazzarin to CTO.
- Headline, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, hired Matt Brown as vice president and promoted Taylor Brandt, Jacob Conger, and Nicolas Von Blottnitz to vice president. Formerly, Brown was with The Chernin Group.
- Russell Investments, a Seattle-based investment firm, hired Zach Buchwald as CEO and chairman of the board. Formerly, he was with BlackRock.
- Summa Equity, a Stockholm-based investment firm, hired Stephanie Caspar as a partner. Formerly, she was with Axel Springer.
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