#GAReads | Female founders under fire: Are women in the startup world being unfairly targeted?
“Female founders under fire: Are women in the startup world being unfairly targeted?”:
Gelman’s fall from grace was dramatic—but not singular. Amid employee allegations of mismanagement or mistreatment—often amplified by the press—each of these founders has stepped down or been forced out of her company in the past 18 months: Tyler Haney of activewear startup Outdoor Voices; Steph Korey of luggage company Away; Christene Barberich of women’s digital publication Refinery29; Yael Aflalo of dressmaker and fashion brand Reformation; Jen Gotch of retailer Ban.do; Shannon Spanhake of workplace-benefits platform Cleo; and Nancy Lublin of mental-health platform Crisis Text Line.
While each ouster has its own twists and turns, there’s a lot that unites these companies and founders. All are fast-growing startups that emphasized feminist or socially driven missions. All have venture capital backing or have been sold to private owners. Most provide consumer-facing products. The vast majority were started by young, wealthy, white, or Asian founders who had become the celebrity faces of their businesses. And—some would argue, most crucially—all were founded by women.