Page 26 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_January2025

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Creating a

gender-inclusive

entrepreneurial

landscape will

help women fit in

and thrive

– by Alexandra Dawson, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business, Concordia University, & Ingrid Chadwick, Associate
Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management, Concordia University
Entrepreneurship, the act of starting or running a new business, is We also organized three focus groups with 44 more women,
a key driver of economic growth, wealth and societal health. While including entrepreneurs and professionals working with or
women are increasingly becoming entrepreneurs across the globe, supporting entrepreneurs in government agencies, incubators or
the field remains dominated by men. diversity units in global corporations.
In Canada, women are more involved in early-stage entrepreneurial We then coded the data to identify emerging concepts and themes.
activities compared to the global average (15% versus 10%). We shared our findings with a subset of our participants to confirm
However, they are still less active than men (15% versus 18%). that these resonated with their experiences before coming to any
Additionally, only 17% of small and medium-sized businesses in conclusions.
Canada are owned by women.
Identity and mindset challenges
Women remain underrepresented in entrepreneurship for a Based on participants’ stories, we classified them based on two
number of reasons. Historically, entrepreneurship has been male- dimensions: gender-entrepreneurial fit and mindset.
dominated, with successful entrepreneurs often described using
male stereotypes, such as being “heroic” risk-takers. The first dimension — gender-entrepreneurial fit — indicates

At the same time, women still face gendered expectations to be whether entrepreneurs see their gender and entrepreneurial
identities as complementary or conflicting.
warm and considerate, rather than competitive and assertive,
which are traits typically associated with, and expected from, Some of the entrepreneurs we spoke to experienced a fit between
entrepreneurs. their gender and entrepreneurial identity. They were able to balance
This gender bias means entrepreneurial programs, policies and their identities as women and as entrepreneurs and encouraged
other women entrepreneurs to pursue entrepreneurship.
funding have generally been designed to motivate and support
men, leading women to feel like they do not “fit in.” Because of this, Others experienced a conflict between their gender and
a critical barrier many women face is an identity conflict between entrepreneurial identity. This was often because they faced gender
what is expected of them as women and the traits expected of stereotypes or worked in male-dominated environments.
successful entrepreneurs. The second dimension — entrepreneurs’ mindset — refers to
Studying women’s experiences whether entrepreneurs believe their abilities can be developed or
not. This indicates a growth or fixed mindset, respectively.
Identity conflict refers to how individuals classify themselves
into social categories (such as gender or occupation) to define Some respondents told us about their fear of failure or lack of
themselves within their social context. These categories are confidence, indicating they had more of a fixed mindset. Others
defined by typical attributes and characteristics based on what is were able to learn from challenges and emotions, indicating a
expected of exemplary members of those categories. growth mindset.
To investigate potential identity conflict among women The power of mindset
entrepreneurs, we carried out in-depth interviews and focus Based on these two dimensions — gender-entrepreneurial fit
groups with 64 women in Canada. and mindset (growth or fixed) — we then classified women
In our interviews, we asked 20 women to tell us why they became entrepreneurs into three categories:
entrepreneurs, how they measured success and what they found
most satisfying and challenging about their work as entrepreneurs.

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