Education with Purpose

Challenges for Female Entrepreneurs Securing Financing | Knowledge Labs: In the Know

July 13, 2022 | Hamilton, ON
Contributed by François Neville, Assistant Professor, Strategic Management

 

While policies and legislation initiatives have worked to even the playing field for women in business and female-owned enterprises, sociological issues still play a major role in hindering women from securing financing for business ventures. François Neville, Assistant Professor at the DeGroote School of Business, suggests that women continue to face challenges in the entrepreneurial world due to gender stereotypes, even though evidence shows that female-led businesses and corporations tend to be more successful than male-led businesses.

 

The Role of Gender and Female Entrepreneurs

When you think of a successful business person, you may think of someone like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, or Jeff Bezos, known to be daring, risk-takers. Even though many successful, ambitious women-owned enterprises exist, they do not fit into the society-expected gender roles. This dissonance penalizes women in business who do not act in the gender roles society expects of them.

“Role congruity theory, which has to do with what men and women in society are expected to look like and act like, has really shaped the field business and the field of entrepreneurship in such a way that our stereotypical images of what the successful business person is, is really associated with what we would consider to be stereotypically male or masculine-like traits.”

 

Breaking the Bias on Women in Business

In order to break down the barriers that female entrepreneurs and women-owned enterprises face, it is up to us to change our social views on what traits we assume fit into traditionally masculine and feminine roles. An ambition and desire for success are not gendered feelings – they are part of the drive that we in business thrive on in order to make a positive impact on society.

Knowledge Labs: In the Know is a web series where experts from the DeGroote School of Business offer their insights into current affairs. Keep up with the series.

François Neville

François Neville

Assistant Professor, Strategic Management

François Neville is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business. François’ research interests reside in the area of strategic leadership and corporate governance. Specifically, he focuses on questions related to how strategic leaders (i.e., CEOs, executives, and/or entrepreneurs) influence firm strategies and performance. His work is forthcoming or published in leading academic journals including Business & Society, the Journal of Business Venturing, the Journal of Management, the Journal of Management Studies, and the Strategic Management Journal. François has also been recognized for his dissertation work through receiving the Best Dissertation Award from the Social Issues in Management (SIM) Division of the Academy of Management and being named a finalist for the INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition.

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