On November 4, the European Parliament held an event presenting the results of an extensive study on the gender gap in investments in Europe, examining investments from both the demand and supply sides. The meeting, held in connection with the European Parliament’s Gender Equality Week, marked the formal launch of Gender Gap in Investments—one of the most comprehensive projects undertaken within the EU on the status of women in innovation, investment, and deep tech.
At the event, a new European database was also introduced, the EU Gender Investment Dashboard, which brings together data on founders, investors, and capital flows in a single place. Its goal is to make real figures more visible and thereby promote greater transparency in innovation-related investments.
Iceland had a strong presence at the meeting, where Hrönn Greipsdóttir, CEO of the Innovation Fund Kría, participated in the main panel discussion. She emphasized the importance of transparency, access to information, and effective use of that information.
Iceland has led the Global Gender Gap Index for 16 years with a gender equality score above 90% and is therefore a model for many nations. Hrönn discussed how Iceland has achieved this success in gender equality and noted that it was due in no small part to role models such as former President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, under whose influence meaningful change took place.
She also pointed out that although Iceland is at the forefront of gender equality, it must never become complacent. She noted, for example, that more work is needed to strengthen women’s participation in the financial sector, where investments still flow only minimally to women, and where there are too few female investors. About 33% of Icelandic startup investments go to mixed-gender teams, and 13–15% to teams composed solely of women.
It was highlighted that Iceland is one of the few countries where investment funds publicly disclose gender ratios—both within management teams and among the companies they invest in.
Finally, Hrönn urged European investors to adopt and place greater emphasis on transparency, noting that access to clear and targeted data is one of the most powerful tools in the fight for gender equality.
