#BreakTheBias: International Women’s Day 2022

by sspagnuolo | March 9, 2022

International Women’s day is a special day to appreciate the complexity and value that women bring to the world. By respecting these unique differences that both men and women bring, the world would not be the same as we know it.

 

Unfortunately, there are still parts of the world that do not offer the same rights and opportunities to women as men. Therefore, this day is meant to increase awareness and advance gender equality. 

 

Socially constructed perceptions of a woman really matter and often create challenging barriers. Finance was developed by a patriarchal system and we tend to associate masculine characteristics to this kind of work. As such, it discourages women from pursuing these types of careers.

 

We must #BreakTheBias in order to remove these socially constructed perceptions of a woman. Action is needed to level the playing field.

 

We Invest in Diversity

Over 75% of our investments have diversity at the founder & executive level, and over 35% of our teams have a female in those roles (see founders below), over 4X higher than industry. The Holt board, management and staff is over 75% diverse, including 50% females.    

 

We invest in the best talent from around the world, no matter the race, creed, gender, class or religion, and that diversity in teams will result in a better society, and greater profitability, proven by various studies (eg.BCG & McKinsey).

 

We have seen for ourselves how diversity brings many advantages to our organization at Holt Xchange, as well as the companies we’ve invested in. 

 

We are proud to work alongside our Holt Xchange portfolio companies that are leading these initiatives:

Stacy Bjornstad – Chief Revenue Officer & Co-Founder at DigiPli 

 

Christina Camacho – CEO & Founder at Ivy Lender

 

Audrey Wilson – VP Operations at Ownest

 

Catherine Beauvais-Gascon – Chief Experience Officer & Co-Founder at Strowz

 

Laura Fortey – COO & Co-Founder at REITIUM

 

Clare Mccaffery – Chief Revenue Officer & Co-Founder at CONFIRMU 

 

Leisy Teixeira – COO & Co-founder at Agryo

 

Monica Oravcova COO & Co-founder at Naoris

 

Helen Dann – Chief Customer Officer & Co-founder at RequirementONE

 

Yael Tamar – CEO & Co-Founder at SolidBlock

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