Women are at the table. Now what?

1 min read · March 7, 2025
New Power Labs

Representation inside venture firms is improving.

According to BDC Capital’s 2025 snapshot report on its national portfolio and underlying portfolio companies, 88% of Canadian VC and PE firms now have at least one woman on their investment committee, up from 63% in 2021. Representation of visible minorities on investment committees has risen significantly to 76% from 55% in 2021.

Diversity among senior investment teams is also increasing: 45% of GPs now report senior investment teams that are at least half women, up from 38%. Additionally, 50% of firms report senior teams that are at least half visible minorities, compared to 40% previously.

But the pipeline is weakening. The share of junior team members from diverse backgrounds is declining, raising questions about the durability of these gains.

Investment committees and teams are where power concentrates: where risk is defined, opportunities are filtered, and founders are either seen or overlooked. Representation at this level can help expand sourcing networks, challenge assumptions about risk, and increase capital allocation toward underinvested founders.

As who sits in the room changes, a critical test is whether the flow of capital changes – toward founders who have historically been overlooked.

Narinder
New Power Labs

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