What Serena Williams, Catherine D., and a brutal statistic teach us about real impact and the urgency of investing in women.
Starting the day listening to Serena Williams would already be, in itself, a powerful symbol. But this morning’s panel in Cannes went beyond the figure it dug into the structure.
The conversation revolved around investing in female leadership and the need to empower women to occupy decision making spaces. But not as part of a generic diversity agenda. What was discussed there was the system: how having women in leadership positions creates a ripple effect socially, economically, and environmentally.
Serena delivered a speech that was both intimate and political. She said that for a long time, she saw herself solely as an athlete. But when she couldn’t find market solutions for the problems she wanted to address, she had to become an entrepreneur. Not as a career ambition, but as a response to absence. As resistance. As an act of building.
Next to her, investor Catherine highlighted a statistic that, I must admit, left me frozen for a few seconds: less than 2% of venture capital funding goes to women-led businesses. Less than 2%. And this in a world where studies have already proven that businesses led by women generate broader, deeper, and more sustainable impact.
That number didn’t go unnoticed. Serena paused to reinforce it. So did the third panelist. It wasn’t just a statistic it was an indictment. And at the same time, an invitation.
Investing in women is investing in long-term solutions. It means putting money where true transformation begins. Health, hygiene, access, equity, justice all of it stems from decisions made at the top. And that’s where we need to be.
Today’s panel wasn’t about gender. It was about vision. It was about understanding that the future we want requires capital to meet courage. And courage, in this century, increasingly has a woman’s name, face, and voice.
Fer Paiva is a strategist, creator, and guest columnist for Sarça House at Cannes Lions 2025.
