California: First Partner joins conversation on expanding access to capital for female founders
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May 19, 2025

First Partner joins conversation on expanding access to capital for female founders

SACRAMENTO — First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom joined Marcie Frost (CEO, CalPERS) and Cassandra Lichnock (CEO, CalSTRS) at the annual Catalyst event for a candid conversation on the role California's public institutions can play in opening access to funding for women and diverse entrepreneurs.

California is now the fourth largest economy in the world and the center of the world's investment-backed innovation economy, with Bay Area venture capitalists alone raising more than $151 billion in funds over the past five years— more than the rest of the U.S. combined. Yet, women and underrepresented voices are systematically overlooked:
  • In 2023, women-founded companies raised $3.2 billion from VCs, just 2.8% of all U.S. VC activity. In comparison, all-male-founded companies raised $114 billion. (Pitchbook and Deloitte, Carta)
  • Women of color received just 0.39% of VC funding in 2023 and 0.13% of funding in 2022. (Fearless Fund)
  • Although the percentage of female VC check writers has grown from 9% to 15.5% in the U.S, 64% of venture firms still don't have any female partners (female investors who are able to write checks). (All Raise)

"California is the global center of the innovation economy because we embrace new ways of thinking and fresh ideas. But if we're missing out on more than half of the population's entrepreneurial breakthroughs, we're leaving a lot on the table. The current system doesn't reflect a lack of talent. It reflects a lack of access and that's something we must change. And it's something we're uniquely positioned to do here in California. Because we know that when women and diverse founders lead, they deliver results —not just for investors—but for entire communities."

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First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

At the event, Siebel Newsom, Frost, and Lichnock also discussed how California is making strides to shift the structural conditions that limit economic opportunity for all:
  • CalPERS has shifted private equity focus away from just large-scale managers to include mid-market, growth, and venture—segments viewed as "undercapitalized." 33% of CalPERS-backed managers now qualify as "diverse," compared to an industry average of 21% across eight peer public pension funds.
  • SB 54, California's Venture Capital Diversity Disclosure Law, which will require VC firms operating in California to disclose demographic data on funded founders to boost transparency.
  • SB 826, California's first-in-the-nation "women on boards" law, although later challenged by the courts, this law helped boost the seats women held on California's public company board to 30% — up from 15.5% in 2018.  
  • AB 2927, requires all high school students to take a personal finance course. It helps to ensure the next generation—especially girls from underserved communities—have the knowledge to build financial independence early.

Through the First Partner's work with California for all Women and her nonprofit the California Partners Project, she has championed efforts to help increase representation of women and close the gender wealth gap–including a board playbook series, co-created with Stanford's VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Lab and Stanford Graduate School of Business, to help companies boost talent and representation on boards.

"Women are the innovators and entrepreneurs that are helping solve societal issues yet remain significantly underrepresented in getting the capital they need to turn ideas into reality," said Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS. Data shows businesses that are majority-owned by women only get 2-percent of venture capital investments in the United States. This gap highlights persistent systemic barriers and biases within the venture capital ecosystem, underscoring the need for more inclusive investment practices and equitable access to funding opportunities that align with our fiduciary duty and requirement to diversify assets."

Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS

Research shows that women and diverse leaders deliver outsized results:
  • Research from Boston Consulting Group indicates that women-owned startups can generate significantly more revenue per dollar invested, potentially leading to greater wealth for investors.
  • Venture capital firms with more women investing partners outperform their peers—seeing 1.5% higher fund returns and nearly 10% more profitable exits.

First Partner, Press releases

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