“Is there a fit?”
An investigation of gendered vocabulary in entrepreneurship education and its effect on students
Paper
Question we care about: While debates are ongoing about the actual effectiveness and success of EE in general, evidence suggests that EE is attracting more male than female students, and that female students who do participate in EE, are relatively less likely to engage in entrepreneurial careers.
A possible explanation might be that the dominant narrative that is being shared in EE remains rather masculine. Consequently, female students may insufficiently recognize themselves as potential future entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the different ways in which male and female entrepreneurs are generally perceived, approached and treated in the entrepreneurial ecosystems which seems hardly addressed in classrooms.
By ignoring these gendered entrepreneurial challenges female students might be less prepared for a carrier path as entrepreneur. This leads to the question: how does EE prepare female students to overcome barriers within entrepreneurial career?