Start-up pitching and gender: How gender is constructed at the pitching stage

The gender gap in venturing worldwide opens a door to explore different aspects and attributes of diversity in the world of entrepreneurship. Although there have been a growing number of gender studies in entrepreneurship, gender is mainly considered a control, or a demographic variable, to compare men and women. However, gender scholars argue that the gender gap in financial funding does not happen merely because of the entrepreneur's biological sex, but rather because of gendered assumptions and practices that are constructed socially and culturally. This doctoral research tackles the gender gap in entrepreneurship by focusing on gender ideologies that influence and perpetuate individual-level practices within the field. Access to financial capital by pitching the business idea to investors has been one of the important elements of entrepreneurship. The pitch narratives and conversations incorporate many gendered assumptions and practices. Thus, the main research question is how gender is constructed in startup pitch sessions. This is ethnography research with a wide variety of data collected at the pitch. Ethnographic data from entrepreneurial organizations in Finland are used for the empirical design. In addition to that, interviews with both investors and entrepreneurs will provide insights into the ideal entrepreneur image. This research contributes to a more holistic understanding of gender in the entrepreneurship world. Also, by uncovering gender biases in the characteristics of an ideal entrepreneur this research supports the diversity in entrepreneurship.