In 2019, 52 women became new VC or general partners in the US, up 37% from last year's record of 38; 65% of VC firms still don't have a woman partner
Correction: In a previous version of this blog post we published that there were 50 new female VC partners in 2019 but the number was actually 52. Tweets: @allraise , @deenashakir , @catleecatlee , and @kateclarktweets Tweets: @allraise : 📣2019 was a historic year for #womeninVC. 50 women became VC partners for the first time, in U.S. firms w/ over $25M AUM. 🙌That's the highest number we've seen, but we still have more work to do. Click thru to read an in-depth analysis of this milestone: https://medium.com/... Deena Shakir / @deenashakir : Thank you, @AllRaise , for highlighting the latest data and trends on women's representation in VC. Proud to be among the 52 who became partners or GPs in 2019, a record high! https://medium.com/... Cat Lee / @catleecatlee : Proud to be among this set of amazing women — a record high! Check out the @AllRaise blog post on the latest women in VC stats! https://twitter.com/... Kate Clark / @kateclarktweets : 50 women became VC partners or GPs for the first time last year, according to @AllRaise data. 65% of VC firms still don't have a female partner or GP: https://medium.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
This count extends a data series All Raise has published since the 36 female VCs launched the group in 2018 with explicit targets: lifting women founders' funding share and doubling the percentage of women in partner roles within ten years. Its previous installment recorded 14 women added to US VC firms in senior roles in Q2 2018, the most of any recent quarter.
The 2019 number — 52 new women VC or general partners, up 37% from 38 — is the first full-year readout against that baseline, and it comes with the sobering counterweight that 65% of US firms still have no woman partner. All Raise also issued a correction bumping the figure from 50 to 52, a sign these counts are being scrutinized closely enough to matter.
First-order effects
- The 52 newly promoted partners join an industry where, per All Raise, nearly two-thirds of firms still lack any woman at the partner or GP level, meaning many of these appointments give a firm its first female investment decision-maker.
- All Raise's ten-year doubling target, set at its 2018 launch, now has a measured trajectory behind it — 38 new women partners in 2018 rising to 52 in 2019 — making the group's progress reportable year over year rather than aspirational.
Second-order effects
- New partners control deal sourcing and check-writing, so the composition shift lands on allocation: PitchBook's finding that all-female founding teams received only about 2.2% of the $85B VCs invested in 2017 marks how much flow could move if partner ranks keep diversifying.
- Because All Raise publishes the tally annually, the 65% of firms without a woman partner becomes a publicly visible gap — peer pressure and talent competition now operate on named firms rather than on the industry in aggregate.
Third-order effects
- If the 2018–19 promotion pace holds, the industry trends toward All Raise's goal of doubling women in partner roles within a decade, though the 65% figure indicates gains are concentrating in a minority of firms rather than spreading evenly.
- Partner composition compounds over fund lifecycles: women elevated now will sit on investment committees through years of deployment decisions, which is the mechanism by which All Raise expects its funding-share targets to be met.
The trend: US venture capital is adding women partners at a record but uneven pace, with All Raise's annual counts turning partnership diversity into a tracked, comparable industry benchmark.