On March 8, International Women’s Day, Shearman & Sterling hosted a breakfast panel called “Investing in Women: Why Bridging the Gap Matters” in partnership with NYC FinTech Women. The panel focused on why accelerating the number of female entrepreneurs, start up and venture capital investors, and board members is important to achieving gender parity and #BalanceforBetter. There were more than 125 people in attendance, a significant number of which were female founders focused on FinTech.

Some of the topics discussed included the dismal percentage of venture capital funding that is allocated to startups founded by women, the low number of women who sit on boards of directors and some measures being taken to increase it, and how organizations such as Shearman & Sterling’s FinTech Foundry, among many others, help women get connected and provide them with the resources they need to succeed in the FinTech startup space.

The panel featured partner Donna Parisi, Head of Shearman’s FinTech Foundry, as moderator. The panelists were partner Gillian Emmett Moldowan (New York-Compensation, Governance & ERISA); Krista Edmunds, BI Innovation Officer, Barclays; Loretta McCarthy, Golden Seeds Managing Partner; and Jennifer Byrne, Quesnay co-founder and President.