SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — How Women Invest (HWI) and How Women Lead (HWL) today released the Women, Wealth & the Capital Continuum 2026 Report, a new analysis of women’s investing behavior that finds women are actively deploying capital in private markets today while building a significant pipeline of future participation, even amid a more constrained market environment.
The report draws on investing sentiment data from two connected audiences. Nearly 90% of respondents from How Women Invest have already made at least one private-market investment, representing capital that is active today. In contrast, respondents from How Women Lead reflect an earlier-stage cohort: values-aligned women with a strong interest in private markets whose investing activity remains primarily in public assets. Together, the findings offer an end-to-end view of women’s capital behavior, from readiness and first participation to repeat deployment.
How Women Invest was founded with a disciplined but bold vision: activate women’s wealth, experience, and influence to back the highest-returning founders: women. By lowering the barrier to entry through a $25,000 minimum commitment paid over four years, HWI welcomed more than 600 first-time limited partners into venture capital. Across Funds I and II, HWI has deployed capital into 30 companies, generating four exits to date alongside a growing portfolio of active companies. Fund I has already returned 35% of capital to LPs ($3.5 million), with meaningful upside still ahead for a 2020 vintage fund.
Additional findings have found that:
- 67% of respondents plan to invest $25K–$49K in venture funds in 2026, a range that aligns closely with reported comfort levels, where 29% cite $25K–$49K and 41% cite $5K–$24K as their most comfortable check size.
- 27% of respondents report having made only 1–2 private investments, while 44% report investing across multiple funds or vehicles, reflecting a mix of early participation and more diversified engagement.
- 39% describe themselves as somewhat confident and seek external guidance, while 24% decide independently with support, and 19% consider themselves very or extremely confident.
The data also dispels the notion that values-driven investing sacrifices performance. Supporting women-led companies is the top motivation among HWI investors, followed closely by access to high-growth opportunities and participation in innovation. More than half say gender diversity meaningfully influences where they invest, with over a third calling it a major factor or outright requirement.
“In a market where caution is the norm, the data tells a different story for women investors,” said Julie Castro Abrams, CEO and Managing Partner of How Women Lead and How Women Invest. Women operators, those who have founded or led companies through a liquidity event and generated meaningful personal returns, are entering private markets deliberately and bringing more women to the table alongside them. With nearly 90% having already invested and 2026 allocations clustering around defined, repeatable check sizes, the data points to disciplined participation rather than speculative risk-taking.”
HWL respondents reflect a broader global community of 25,000 senior executive women with significant influence whose investing activity remains concentrated in public markets.
Additional findings have found that:
- 77% invest with a values-based lens while 58% invest with a gender lens, and sector interests closely mirror those of HWI investors, including Women’s Health, AI/Data, Healthcare Delivery, and Financial Innovation.
- 44% say they do not yet have a clear plan to invest in venture and want to learn more.
- 19% describe themselves as very or extremely confident in private-market decision-making, while 63% either seek guidance or rely entirely on advisors.
- 27% of HWL respondents allocate just 1–5% of their portfolios to private or alternative investments, while another 18% report no private-market allocation at all — reinforcing that interest and values alignment are present, but participation remains constrained by access and structure rather than intent.
Together, the two reports reveal a sequential opportunity. Women’s capital is entering private markets in stages: early, disciplined deployment today, and a sizable pipeline forming behind it. In a market defined by caution, this pattern favors structures that reward clarity over speed and education over hype. The firms that succeed will be those that meet women where they are by lowering friction, standardizing access, and enabling repeat participation, helping to strengthen the long-term resilience of private markets.
To learn more about investing in venture funds through How Women Invest, join an introductory call or contact investorrelations@howwomeninvest.com.
About How Women Invest
How Women Invest (HWI) is a venture capital platform designed to activate women’s wealth, experience, and influence to back the highest-returning founders: women. Founded to expand access to private markets, HWI lowers traditional barriers to entry through a structured $25,000 minimum commitment paid over four years, enabling more women to participate meaningfully in venture capital. Since launching, HWI has welcomed more than 600 first-time limited partners and deployed capital across Funds I and II into 30 women-led and women-founded companies. The portfolio has generated four exits to date, with Fund I already returning 35% of capital to investors ($3.5 million) and meaningful upside still ahead for a 2020 vintage fund.
Through disciplined deployment, investor education, and repeatable participation, How Women Invest is building a new model for women’s long-term leadership in venture and innovation. To learn more, visit How Women Invest.
About How Women Lead
How Women Lead is a national organization of top executive women focused on activating their individual and collective power to achieve equity for women by driving representation and opportunities across all aspects of life and career. Founded in 2014, the organization fights for change at all levels by driving systems reform, mobilizing a movement, offering training, and providing access to opportunities. Now more than 25,000 strong, the organization has expanded its impact nationally.How Women Lead’s philanthropic arm, How Women Give, provides grants and invaluable connections to women’s and girls’ organizations on the frontlines of today’s most critical issues. Its sister organization, How Women Invest, invites women to play big and powerfully in venture, making meaningful investments and propelling high-potential, women-led companies forward at scale. For more, visit How Women Lead.
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SOURCE How Women Invest
