In an industry where just 3% of tech start-ups are led by women*, it can be tough to bump into other women in tech, let alone find other female mentors. Galvanize, in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs, is looking to change that. #40Forward is a challenge Google for Entrepreneurs has issued to 40 startup communities around the world to increase participation by women by 25% this year.

We know the data tells us a lot of favorable stats when it comes to women in tech. Women-led private technology companies are more capital-efficient, achieving 35% higher return on investment, and, when venture-backed, bring in 12% higher revenue than male-owned tech companies.** Diverse teams also make better decisions and have higher IPOs. And yet, we’re still at 3% female leadership. So what’s keeping the other 97% of women out of leading tech start-ups?

     “As a 39-year-old woman with 2 kids,” notes Lara Dawson (Galvanize Member and Partner/COO at Secure Ideas), “I sacrificed a lot for my family by starting-up. But my business partner and I worked together previously at another company and we thought we could do it better. So here we are: doing it better.”

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