Women-led startups are growing — so why is VC funding still so low?

FEATURED STORY: Women-founded companies now make up 7.1 percent of U.S. startups, but they receive only 2 percent of venture funding. Here’s how Sacramento innovators are pushing for change.

Post-feminist sentiment pervades today’s business world — so much so that researchers were surprised when a pitching workshop comparing questions posed to men versus women revealed persistent, deep-seated bias.

While discussions surrounding other underrepresented groups remain prominent in the cultural zeitgeist, women themselves often dismiss microaggressions directed at them as part of the status quo.

Contributor Russell Nichols, who writes the Startup of the Month column, lifts the lid on this dynamic in his feature story on women-led startups and an addendum in which he asks founders to share their most pivotal moments.

At Comstock’s, a women-owned and -led publication, we recognize that the fight for equity is far from over. That’s why we continue to celebrate female leaders each year, sharing their stories in the spirit of progress.

Be the first to read our 2026 Women in Leadership issue on your computer, phone or tablet, and stay tuned for our social media rollout of the honorees.

– Dakota Morlan, managing editor

In case you missed it: Female Startup Founders Share the Decisions That Changed Everything

We asked three female founders to name one moment they remember from building your company that they didn’t recognize as pivotal until much later. Here’s how they answered.

Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera’s Comeback Is a Win for the Whole Region | Opinion

President and Publisher Winnie Comstock-Carlson reflects on Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera’s journey to renewed success in light of a recent collaboration.

Photos: Sacramento’s Native Oak Trees Become Key Issue in Housing and Flood Planning

Sacramentans have rallied against projects that would remove oaks for solar energy, flood control and other projects. Here is a look at projects that involve cutting oak trees.

Big Bets in Downtown Sacramento Require Courageous Leadership | Opinion

As a multi-billion-dollar project reshapes Sacramento’s urban core, the city’s future will hinge on courage — and on women stepping forward to lead, Sac State’s chief of external communications Michelle Willard writes.

I Delivered 50 Newspapers a Day in Elementary School. Here’s What’s Changed

An unexpected visit from a delivery driver brings back memories of a childhood paper route — and raises questions about what’s left of the local newspaper.

Recommendations From Our Staff

Judy: I recently read a good book, “Yellowface” by R.F. Kuang, about women writers and how tough it is to make it in the book publishing business. So tough that the main character resorted to stealing an unread manuscript from her friend after she died suddenly and tried to pass it off as her own. Did she succeed? I feel as a longtime writer and editor, I’ve learned my writers’ style and would know if they sounded different or if someone else wrote their story.

Jennifer: I’m not much of a horror movie fan, but some friends wanted to watch “The Substance” last weekend, and I reluctantly agreed. I’m glad I did. The female-directed film, which is highly stylized and lacks the cruelty I like least about the horror genre, muses obliquely on topics like motherhood, aging and the Hollywood starlet mill before becoming an old-fashioned monster movie with amazingly kitschy, 1980s-inspired practical effects.

Odds and Ends

March is Women in Leadership month at Comstock’s magazine! Our annual showcase of some of the region’s most prominent women in business and nonprofits also features stories on women-led startups, female equestrians and urban design that builds community. Read it now on your computer, phone or tablet.

But wait — it’s even better in print! Subscribe today.

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