‘Wokeness’ killed SVB, some conservative politicians and commentators are saying—not bad risk management or a bank run

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are also increasingly the norm. According to a study by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, Trusaic and human resources organization SHRM, two-thirds of companies surveyed said DEI is a high strategic priority. That’s good business, particularly among SVB’s clientele: In a 2017 paper, Harvard Business School professor Paul Gompers and co-author Sophie Q. Wong found that having at least one woman in a VC fund improved performance by approximately 10% and increased the percentage of successful startups supported by those funds.