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METHODOLOGY:

Presented by CDW in collaboration with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, this data was collected between April 21 and May 19, 2022. More than 100 companies submitted responses, of which 77 were analyzed. This year, we also refined the questions and survey fields that were included in the survey, based on new diversity data standards that were established in 2021 in partnership with the Illinois Growth & Innovation Fund (ILGIF). We also asked questions to help us better understand intersectionality data, so in some instances, we do not have comparable 2020 data.

This survey only includes information from companies that have received VC funding as verified through Pitchbook. All companies included in the sample are headquartered in the Northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Our use of Chicago, Chicagoland, or Chicago region throughout this analysis is interchangeable and inclusive of the entire NE Illinois region.

For race and ethnicity categories, we use the categories established by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for the purposes of comparing our data with national statistics.

Thank you to our 2022 Survey Partners for their help in disseminating this survey to their networks: GET Cities, the Illinois Growth & Innovation Fund, the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition, the Illinois Venture Capital Association, P33 and World Business Chicago.