The lack of women in tech is actually getting worse, not better

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women in tech

Silicon Valley Bank US Startup Outlook Report 2017

The survey was conducted by a third-party research firm and included startups from all over the world, with 62% based in the US.

There has been a lot of talk about how to get women into tech, particularly onto boards and into leadership positions.

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Yet, despite the scrutiny, the number of company boards with no women on them actually increased in 2017, according to Silicon Valley Bank's 2017 Startup Outlook report.

More than 70% of the 941 startups surveyed did not have a single female board member in 2017, up from 66% the year before.

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And it's not just board seats. The number of companies with no women in executive positions also increased in 2017, to more than half of the companies surveyed.

It's a worrying uptick to a trend that has received a lot of lip service, but very little action.

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When First Round Capital performed a similar survey six months ago, nearly a third of the 700 startups it surveyed hadn't even talked about diversity as a company priority. According to Silicon Valley Bank, at least a quarter of the companies that responded did have some diversity plans. But that doesn't mean companies will be able to reverse this new trend. Even Facebook, with its best-laid plans, has struggled with promoting diversity and inclusion in its ranks.

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