Closing the Funding Gap: How Women Investors are Supporting Women Founders in Venture Capital with Jacqueline Schafer
- alesiag2
- Mar 5, 2025
- 2 min read
What if I told you that women are poised to control trillions of dollars in wealth, yet only a fraction of venture capital funding goes to women-led businesses? It's time to change that narrative. Today, Julie Castro Abrams and Jackie Schafer discuss how we can support women founders, close the gender funding gap, and create a future where women's leadership thrives. This week’s episode 158 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about closing the funding gap and supporting women founders in venture capital!
This episode was created in partnership with the Nasdaq Foundation. Together, we are working to educate, inspire, and engage women from diverse backgrounds on venture investing and entrepreneurship. Did you know that only 2% of venture funding goes to women-led companies? Together, we are working to show that women are the new face of venture investing.
In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Jacqueline Schafer is sharing the importance of investing in and supporting women founders and actionable steps you can take right now to start your investing journey.
Jacqueline Schafer is the founder and CEO of Clearbrief (Winner, Litigation Technology Product of the Year, Legalweek 2023). Schafer serves as one of inaugural members of the Texas Bar’s AI Taskforce, and she was chosen by the American Bar Association as one of the “2022 Women of Legal Tech” and named to the 2022 Fastcase 50, Honoring ‘Innovators, Techies, Visionaries and Leaders’ in Law, Schafer also received the 2021 Washington State Bar APEX Award for Legal Innovation for founding Clearbrief as well as for her 2020 law review article ("Harnessing AI for Struggling Families").
Some of the talking points Julie and Jacqueline go over in this episode include:
Why it's crucial to support women-led companies, especially in AI and emerging tech.
Value investors can bring to a new company beyond the money.
Committing to making introductions for other women as a rule.
Why it's crucial to support women-led companies, now more than ever.
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Learn more about How Women Inspire at https://www.howwomenlead.com/podcast
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Great discussion on investing in innovation and creating opportunities for underrepresented founders. The gaming industry, including projects and communities around GTA 5 Mobile, also benefits when diverse entrepreneurs and developers have better access to funding.
One of the strongest points raised is how women-led investment groups are not only providing capital but also mentorship, networks, and long-term strategic support, which are often just as critical as funding itself. This shift reflects a broader movement toward more inclusive and equitable financial ecosystems.
In this context, it also links to wider analytical themes such as 3.1 Analyse factors that influence the capacity of an individual to express consent, particularly when considering how access to information, power imbalances, and social influence can shape decision-making processes in professional and economic environments.
The part about women investors stepping in to close the funding gap for women founders really stood out, especially how the article highlights that access to capital is often shaped as much by networks and representation as it is by the strength of the business idea itself. It makes the whole venture capital landscape feel less abstract and more tied to who actually gets a seat at the table when decisions are made.
It also made me think about how slow structural change can be, even when awareness is increasing, since these gaps don’t close just through one-off efforts but through sustained participation and visibility over time. I wonder how much momentum is currently building compared to even a few…
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