Ryan FowlerFemale technology founders face greater recruitment challenges than their male counterparts because job seekers view them as less competent and less capable of empowering employees, according to research from Mannheim Business School.
Dr Robert Strohmeyer, postdoctoral researcher at Mannheim Business School, and his colleagues ran two studies with over 1,200 US job seekers to assess their likelihood of seeking employment with startups led by all-male, all-female, or gender-balanced management teams.
They found that startups with female founders were perceived as having less potential for growth and were less attractive to job applicants.
Strohmeyer said the difficulty female founders face stems from gender stereotypes that undermine perceptions of competence and warmth in women-led ventures, leading job seekers to doubt their viability and employee-empowerment potential.
However, the study also shows that gender-balanced leadership teams help counter these biases. “Female-led technology ventures can bolster their appeal to potential employees by establishing leadership teams with balanced gender representation,” Strohmeyer added.
The findings underscore the importance of promoting gender diversity within leadership teams, not only to challenge stereotypes but also to help startups attract a broader talent pool. The study was published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
