March marks International Women’s Day (March 8th), and Women’s History Month, and here in the space industry we are fortunate to have amazing females blazing new paths. However, less than 25% of the workforce is female, and at a leadership level it is even fewer, with women making up just 17% of C-level roles and only 12% of founders/entrepreneurs. A UN Women stat recently found that only 1% of global procurements go to businesses led by women. Not great news for an industry still heavily reliant on government contracts.
Biance Cefalo is the co-founder and CEO of space material qualification start-up Space-Dots. In recent interviews with Forbes and Via Satellite, she revealed how her journey as a CEO has been more difficult without other women to look up to. Investors’ doors are trickier to open, and Cefalo has to carve out her own path.
Another woman to watch is Bridget Mendler, CEO of Northwood Space, who made headlines over the last few weeks, for going from Disney actress to space entrepreneur. Her transition has highlighted how space is continuing its move from the domain of governments to people from all backgrounds.
Why does this matter?
Diversity attracts new skills and a new workforce. Younger generations need to see diverse entrepreneurs creating social, economic and environmental impact, inspiring them to join the space industry.
Diversity also breeds new solutions, providing a fresh take on how we can solve some of Earth’s most challenging questions. Bringing more diversity to the boardroom, and pitch decks, will result in more diverse ways of approaching some of these challenges, and push us all forward as an industry.
