This research project received funding through the 2024-2025 Institute for Diversity Science Seed Grant Program
Principal Investigator: Chia-Jung Tsay, Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-Investigators: Minah Park, Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Abstract: In this paper, we delve into social role theory and role congruence theory to propose the possibility that beyond third-party penalties on female entrepreneurs, women may themselves also unwittingly contribute to the gender gap in this field. Specifically, we suggest that while women and men are equally capable of generating entrepreneurial ideas, when evaluating the novelty and usefulness of business ideas, women experience a self-discounting effect, a novel construct that we define as a tendency of women, relative to men, to evaluate their own ideas more critically. We further delve into the mechanism. In particular, we suggest that gender bias on novelty and usefulness may mediate the relationship between gender and the evaluation of ideas. As women unconsciously think that the criteria for the idea evaluation (i.e., novelty and usefulness) are more closely linked to masculinity, it causes them to feel less confident in their business ideas. As a result, women who hold a gender bias on novelty and usefulness will demonstrate a greater tendency to underestimate their own ideas, compared to those with a weaker bias. In particular, we attempt to investigate the following research questions: 1) is there a gender effect on idea generation, 2) do early-stage female entrepreneurs, relative to male counterparts, more negatively evaluate their own business ideas, and 3) why do women show a tendency to be more critical toward their own ideas?