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01

Key Findings

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The State of European Tech 2019

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Investments

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Investors

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Diversity & Inclusion

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People

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Purpose

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Places

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Policy

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About

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Appendix

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Industry Sentiment on D&I

The survey included a large number of questions exploring industry sentiment on a range of different issues related to progress on building a more diverse and inclusive European tech industry in the past 12 months. There is strong agreement in the European tech and VC community about the importance of creating a more diverse and inclusive industry. While many feel better informed and more empowered to take actions towards this goal and have changed their behaviours accordingly, it's also clear that for many the industry is a long way from creating equal opportunity for people of all demographics, backgrounds and experiences.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Source:

Legend

  • Agree
  • Disagree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
Note:
Venture capitalists, founders and startup/scale-up employees only. Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

It's interesting to look at how sentiment varies for different groups of respondents. Exploring the data based on the gender of respondents shows that women are more likely than men to believe diversity and inclusion is important, more likely to feel better informed on the topic, more likely to feel empowered to make positive change, and more likely to have changed their behaviour as a result of the increased focus on D&I.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Source:

Legend

  • Agree
  • Disagree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

It's also clear that the experience of working in the European tech industry varies greatly based on background. For example, respondents from minority ethnic groups are much less likely to believe that the industry has made meaningful progress towards being more diverse and inclusive and much less likely to believe that it provides equal opportunity for all.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Source:

Legend

  • Agree
  • Disagree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Four in ten women and men believe there has been an increase in the past 12 months, but more than half felt things hadn't changed, including 56% of respondents who are founders of work in a tech startup or scale-up. This sentiment is reflected at similar levels across respondents from all ethnic groups too. Respondents from the UK were most likely to share the view that there has been an increase in inclusiveness, while respondents from France and the Benelux were least likely to say there has been an increase.

Thinking only about the last 12 months, have you experienced any change in the inclusiveness of the tech industry in Europe?

Source:

Legend

  • Increase
  • Decrease
  • No change
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

When asked to share their sentiment on any change in the inclusiveness of the culture within their own companies in the past 12 months, the responses were similar to those based on the industry-wide view. Half of all respondents said there had been no change in the past 12 months, but 44% were more positive and stated they had seen an increase in the inclusiveness of the culture at their companies. Respondents based in the UK were most likely to have reported an increase.

Thinking only about the last 12 months, have you experienced any change in the inclusiveness of the culture at your company?

Source:

Legend

  • Increase
  • Decrease
  • No change
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

We asked respondents to share whether they felt more comfortable in bringing their whole selves to work. A material share of respondents stated that they had increased comfort levels in this regard, but there are also meaningful numbers of respondents who said they had felt no change or even felt a decreased comfort level. For example. 10% of women and 16% of Black/African/Caribbean respondents said they felt less comfortable over the last 12 months.

Thinking only about the last 12 months, have you experienced any change regarding your comfort level in bringing your whole self to work in your tech company?

Source:

Legend

  • Increase
  • Decrease
  • No change
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

I think we're rightly seeing more thought and attention being given to diversity and inclusion. At Monzo we've taken a really important step and hired our first head of diversity and inclusion, Sheree Atcheson. I feel we're making progress in this space but there’s still a long way to go.

Tom Blomfield

Monzo

CEO

The divided sentiment around progress on diversity and inclusion is also visible when asking respondents to share their sentiment on the priority level at their companies to recruit, retain and grow talent from diverse demographics, backgrounds or experiences. 45% of respondents who are founders or working at tech startups and scale-ups reported an increase in priority level and 55% of venture capitalist respondents. But, again, we found that more than four in ten respondents reported they felt there had been no change in priority level.

Thinking only about the last 12 months, have you experienced any change regarding the priority level of your company to recruit, retain and grow talent from diverse demographics, backgrounds or experiences?

Source:

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  • Increase
  • Decrease
  • No change
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

In our experience hiring in Europe, we assumed there might have been a challenge in terms of gender diversity, but this actually became an advantage for us.

In our experience hiring in Europe, we assumed there might have been a challenge in terms of gender diversity, but this actually became an advantage for us. At Karma we're 60% female, which is unusual in a tech company. And those women are across all teams, including engineering and product. We feel extremely lucky to have attracted this talent.

Another thing we had on our side was the level of English spoken in Sweden; it was a clear advantage for us expanding internationally. At Karma we spoke English internally from the very beginning, even when all employees were Swedish. Now that we have offices in 3 countries and 70 employees from over 20 countries, it's a no-brainer to communicate in English.

Elsa Bernadotte

Karma

Co-Founder & COO

Despite large numbers of respondents reporting increases in the quantity of diverse talent hired into their companies overall, far fewer respondents reported that the diversity of senior leadership in their company had increased over the last 12 months.

Thinking only about the last 12 months, have you experienced any change regarding the level of diversity of senior leadership in your company?

Source:

Legend

  • Increase
  • Decrease
  • No change
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

The net net is that there are still far too many people who believe they must overcome obstacles to be successful in the European tech industry. 43% of women respondents and more than 40% of respondents from minority ethnic groups shared that they believe it is more difficult to be successful in tech because of their background and/or identity.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: It is more difficult for me to be successful in tech because of my background and/or identity (socio-economic status, gender and/or age)

Source:

Legend

  • Agree
  • Disagree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
Note:
Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding.

I only heard the concept of 'part time' when I moved out of Romania!

The CEE has more gender diversity in its tech workforce than other regions in Europe. This is a 'side effect' of the old communist regimes where it was the basis of the society that both women and men worked equally. Women often pursued careers in STEM fields, which was encouraged due to the focus on industrialisation. I experienced this firsthand as I was growing up in Romania. It was natural for professional-age women to work - most of our mothers worked full time as engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors and lawyers, and took pride in their careers. I only heard the concept of 'part time' when I moved out of Romania! They encouraged their children, regardless of gender, to have educational and career ambitions, and they provided role models. This doesn't mean that there isn't work still to be done, including more representation in key political roles, reporting of diversity statistics and addressing pay gaps.

Irina Haivas

Atomico

Principal

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