2019 Schedule

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Founder

Tuesday, Sep 17
10:00am — 11:30am
Spaces - Denver Ballpark
192 attending

The Elephant in the Room: Implicit gender bias in startups.

Women own 40% of all businesses in the US, but female founders receive less than 3% of venture funding.

Ideas are born of inspiration. They move from their initial spark to the market place through grit and determination. Everyone knows this. Everyone experiences this. Yet the industry tends to favor the startup ideas of men over women. Is this a problem? Maybe.

Women, especially minority women, have known that we process a special kind of access to knowledge because of and despite, the social position we are born into. It is easy for those at the top of social hierarchies to lose sight of real human relations and the true nature of social reality and thus miss critical questions about the social and natural world in their startup pursuits. Conversely, people at the bottom of social hierarchies have a unique standpoint that allows them to explore a different set of questions that lead to a set of unique solutions. Although these folks are often overlooked, their marginalized positions actually make it easier for them to define important problems that those at the top haven’t yet seen, and deliver clear solutions.

So, it was fitting that a minority-woman would find a solution to the communication needs of transgender people, probably the most maligned, marginalized and mistreated minority, with an estimated murder somewhere in the world every three days.

Transgender people represent approximately 1% of the world’s general population or about 76 million people. In the United States alone, on average, two transgender people are violently killed each month. And about 45% of trans youth attempt suicide in their young lives each year.

This session will present current knowledge and personal experience regarding:

  1. The gift of minorities
  2. Why diversity is a good thing
  3. Examining privilege

Participations will be guided to the application of these key strategies:

  1. Building accountable communities
  2. Never, never, never giving up.

And in the end, together we will see and know things about each other, about our mutual connection and interactions, which will create a more level playing field for all startups.

Panelists:
Kathe Perez, Co-founder, CEO, VoxPop
Erin Parisi, Founder TranSending7
Meghann Perez-Darby, Culture Person, VoxPop