Stereotypical beliefs about men’s and women’s traits and abilities get in the way of women’s entrepreneurship, new research finds.
Sociologist Sarah Thébaud didn’t doubt that women are at a disadvantage when it comes to starting their own businesses—plenty of evidence proves that to be the case—but she wanted to find out whether or not people are systematically biased in favor of male-led businesses, and if so, why.
An assistant professor of sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara, Thébaud conducted three experimental studies and found across the board that people are likely to systematically discount the competence of female entrepreneurs and the investment-worthiness of their enterprises. However, she also found that this bias is somewhat mitigated when women pitch a particularly novel business idea. Her research was recently published online in the journal Social Forces.
“I looked at two different types of businesses, one in what I'd call a gender-balanced retail industry and the other in a high-tech industry,” Thébaud says. She asked participants in the study to review and rate business plans for their investment-worthiness. The plans were identical, but she manipulated the first names of the entrepreneurs.
“Most businesses tend to replicate others that are similar—one pizza place may be a little different from another, but basically they’re all serving the same thing,” Thébaud continues. “For those types of businesses, I found the participants systematically rated women-led businesses to be less investment-worthy and less likely to be successful.”
