"Løvens Hule" keeps up with the times and reflects reality

The mission of "Løvens Hule" is to inspire entrepreneurship and greater diversity.

We are naturally very aware that "Løvens Hule" must keep up with the times and evolve so that the program reflects the current reality in the business world in all its diversity, writes Anne Garlichs, program director at DR.

In an op-ed in Jyllands-Posten on April 22, lecturer Hilda Rømer Christensen and research assistant Sebrina Stensgaard from the University of Copenhagen present a detailed analysis of the gender distribution in the DR program "Løvens Hule," which is criticized for cementing gender stereotypes and inequalities in the entrepreneurial culture.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the two researchers for highlighting the lack of diversity in Danish entrepreneurship and, not least, the unequal distribution of capital between male and female founders.

It is, of course, a problem that Denmark, with only 27 percent female entrepreneurs, ranks at the bottom among OECD countries, and that these 27 percent receive an even smaller share of the investments.

This is naturally a topic that has gained more attention at DR. Therefore, over the program’s nine seasons, we have seen development, especially in the latest season. Unfortunately, the op-ed authors did not include this in their analysis. Here, women actually make up 40 percent of the participating entrepreneurs, and 12 out of 32 investments – that is, 37.5 percent – have gone to companies with female entrepreneurs.

These figures are far from aligning with the surrounding investment world, where only 0.1 percent of capital goes to companies with exclusively female founders. So, we are proud of the numbers for the latest season of "Løvens Hule."

On the investor side, "Løvens Hule" has also had an overrepresentation of women. We do not know the exact percentage of women among Danish investors.

However, industry experts estimate that it is at most 5-10 percent of active investors. In "Løvens Hule," women have made up 40 percent of the regular investor panel in six out of nine seasons.

The mission of "Løvens Hule" is to highlight entrepreneurship and show how many different entrepreneurs and companies exist in Denmark.

We also hope that the program can inspire even more talents and entrepreneurs – regardless of gender or background – to try to turn their business ideas and dreams into reality.

At DR, we want to help pave the way for a more diverse Entrepreneurial Denmark, and therefore we will continue to focus on ensuring that underrepresented groups also have a place in the program.

We are naturally very aware that "Løvens Hule" must keep up with the times and evolve so that the program reflects the current reality in the business world in all its diversity.

We think this has been quite successful in the ninth season. Both in terms of the composition of the lion’s den and the projects the entrepreneurs are presenting.

Emner