Women of influence in the Middle East Lucy Chow

 Lucy Chow is evolving the dialogue in gender equality

Posted inUncategorized Women of Influence in the Middle East 2020

Lucy Chow

Company: Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN)

Designation: Director

More work needs to be done to nurture and support female entrepreneurs, according to Lucy Chow, director of the Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN).

Chow is focussed on the innovation space, both in terms of supporting founders and as an investor.

And what she has noticed is a clear imbalance when it comes to female start-ups.

She says: “In 2019, less than 3 percent of all capital invested in the start-up ecosystem went to all-female founding teams. Why? Bias among investors because there is a lack of women making the investment decisions. 

“Lack of women on the other side of the table is also something that should have changed by 2020. VC funds employ very few women. We are all aware of the facts. 

“Start-ups that have diverse leadership, where there is at least one female founder, have higher returns per invested dollar. Why than are VCs ignoring this fact? VCs, mainly with male GPs invest with a gender lens. This is nicer way of saying ‘biases’.”

Chow was appointed Senator (UAE) at the Grand Assembly, World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF) and is a board member of the Global Start-up and Women Executive Committees.

During her 13 years in Dubai, Chow has garnered a strong reputation for originating business-focussed events that target captains of industry, as well as trendsetters in the UAE through her firm, The Elements Group.

However, she warns against organising or attending female-only networking events and called for inclusivity from the very top down.

“Networking events are not all created equally. Do not attend all, but women must attend some, versus none,” she says. 

“I do firmly believe it is important to not only attend all women only events. The decision-makers are still predominately male. 

Networking events with men are vitally important to attend. If you are organising an all-female event, be sure to invite men. Men need to be included in the dialogue regarding equality and gender parity. There are many men that champion women every day. They need to be part of the dialogue if we want to move the needle.”

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