Venture capital (VC) has long remained a male bastion. A recent report by DealStreetAsia found that only about 18% of investment decision-makers at Southeast Asia-headquartered venture investors are women. That figure has remained relatively unchanged since 2023 (17.4%).
“My concern is that many still view diversity as the morally “right thing to do” rather than the “smart thing to do.” This perception often leads to diversity being treated as an add-on rather than an embedded practice across the fund’s team, processes, investment thesis, portfolio construction, and value creation efforts,” says Alina Truhina, CEO and managing partner at The Radical Fund, an early-stage VC fund focused on climate transition across Southeast Asia, in an interview.
A 2019 report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), RockCreek, and Oliver Wyman found that private equity and VC funds with gender-balanced senior investment teams generated 10-20% higher returns compared with those with a majority of male or female leaders. The report examined the performance and gender diversity data for more than 700 funds.
That said, diversity considerations must not be limited to gender, Truhina points out.
“It is important to remember that diversity is not just about gender but also encompasses lenses of race, neurodiversity, socio-economic background, and even education! Building teams and portfolios that are diverse leads to more successful results, which is now proven with clear data,” she added.
Edited excerpts of an interview:
