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00:00HEARING TODAY CONGRESSMAN STEPHEN LYNCH. I AM CURIOUS WHAT LED YOU TO TAKE ON THIS ISSUE. WHAT DO YOU THINK WASHINGTON CAN DO ABOUT DECADES OF SEXISM IN THE TECH INDUSTRY? > > THANK YOU, I KNOW YOU HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN THIS AREA AND I HAVE HEARD YOU ON PREVIOUS SHOWS COMMENTING ON THIS. THE NUMBERS ARE STUNNING. THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS GOING OUT THE DOOR EVERY YEAR FOR VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS TO FINTECH STARTUPS, LESS THAN 2% GO TO WOMEN. 1% GOES TO BLACK ENTREPRENEURS. LESS THAN 2% TO LATINX FOUNDERS. WE HAD THIS PROBLEM YEARS AGO AND THE BANKING INDUSTRY. THEY USED TO HAVE REDLINING AND THIS IS SORT OF REDLINING WHAT THEY ' RE DOING HERE. BACK IN THE DAY, THE BANKS WOULD NOT INVEST IN THE REDLINED AREAS. WE PASSED THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID WAS WE CREATED A SCORECARD, REPORT CARD THAT ALLOWED THE POSITIVES AND INVESTORS TO REALIZE HOW THAT INSTITUTION WAS DOING IN TERMS OF THEIR INVESTMENT IN MINORITY AREAS BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE THOUGHT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS THE SAME THING WITH VENTURE CAPITAL. NEED TO GIVE THEM A SCORECARD. THE SEC NEEDS TO TRACK HOW WELL INCLUSIONARY MEASURES ARE ADOPTED BY THESE VC FIRMS SO THAT WOMEN AND MINORITY FOUNDERS CAN PARTICIPATE. > > SALLIE KRAWCHECK, FOUNDER OF A COMPANY ALSO TESTIFIED AT THE HEARING TODAY. WE PULLED A PORTION OF HER TESTIMONY. > > THE REAL ISSUE IS THE FEW FINTECH ' S CENTER ON WOMEN ' S NEEDS. YOUR CONSTITUENTS INVEST LESS OF THEIR MONEY THAN MEN DO. COSTING THEM HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FOR SOME WOMEN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR LIVES. IT IS ONE REASON WHY THE GENDER WEALTH GAP IS AT $.32 TO WHITE MAN ' S DOLLAR AND ONE PENNY FOR WOMEN AND IT HAS BEEN WIDENING. EMILY: HERE IS A STORY OF SOME OF THIS -- SOME OF THESE FOUNDERS, WHAT WAS MOST ALARMING TO YOU? > > WE HAD SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL STARTUP ENTREPRENEURS THAT CAME BEFORE THE COMMITTEE. HEARING HOW HARD THEY HAD TO WORK GOING TO 30 DIFFERENT ENTITIES AND BASICALLY BEGGING FOR INVESTMENT IN THEIR PRODUCTS , YOU COULD SEE HOW HARD THEY HAD TO FIGHT TO BREAK THROUGH. THAT NOT ONLY DENIED THEM THE OPPORTUNITY, BUT THEY HAD GREAT IDEAS. THEY HAD GREAT SUBSTANTIVE IDEAS THAT WERE A GREAT BENEFIT TO SOCIETY IN GENERAL. WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO BREAK THROUGH OR MAKE THESE VC COMPANIES WERE AWARE OF WHAT ' S OUT THERE. OFTENTIMES, THEY ARE SUPPORTING HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT VENTURES HOPING THAT ONE OF THEM MIGHT BE SUCCESSFUL. YET IN THAT PROCESS, THEY ARE TOTALLY IGNORING MANY OF THE VIABLE SUBSTANTIVE PROPOSALS MADE BY WOMEN AND MINORITY FOUNDERS. EMILY: SILICON VALLEY HAS MADE SOME PROGRESS IN ITS OWN VERSION OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT. FIVE YEARS AGO, I WROTE ABOUT THIS IN MY BOOK. OBVIOUSLY, I THINK MOST PEOPLE WOULD AGREE NOT ENOUGH PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE. MAXINE WATERS MADE A SURPRISE APPEARANCE TODAY. WOULD YOU SAY THAT THERE IS BROAD CONSENSUS ACROSS CONGRESS THAT MORE DIVERSITY IN THE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY SECTOR IS CRITICAL? > > THINK SO. WE HAD A BIPARTISAN HEARING TODAY. I WELCOMED THE COMMENTS OF MY REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES. THEY REALIZE THAT THIS IS FOR BUSINESS BY INCLUDING THOSE IDEAS AND THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE WORK OF SOME OF OUR MINORITY FOUNDERS THE TESTIFIED TODAY WAS IMPORTANT TO THE INDUSTRY AT LARGE.

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Combating Tech Bro Culture

US House of Representatives member Stephen Lynch (D-MA) joins Emily Chang on the heels of the US House Committee on Financial Services hearing aiming to fight the bro culture in the tech sector. (Source: Bloomberg)

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