Discover Resources by Tags: gender inequality
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                “Women Just Want Fund…ing” A study of 
the fundraising experiences and 
strategies of women founders in the 
United Kingdom.
        
      
Shared with the World by Elangkathir Duhindan
    This dissertation explores the persistent 
underrepresentation and challenges 
faced by women entrepreneurs in the 
investment landscape. In the United 
Kingdom, women-led ventures receive 
significantly less funding than their 
counterparts who identify as men,
perpetuating a gender funding gap. The 
research specifically investigates the 
experiences of UK-based women 
founders during their fundraising 
journeys, with a focus on identifying 
coping strategies they employ in this 
highly competitive men-dominated 
environment. Seven semi-structured 
qualitative interviews were conducted 
with women founders who had 
completed at least one funding round. 
The findings reveal that women founders 
frequently encounter negative 
experiences with investors, including 
belittlement, heightened scrutiny, hostile 
sexism, and sexual advances. To navigate 
these challenges, women founders 
primarily adopt a set of different coping 
strategies, including behavioural 
strategies, such as altering their 
communication styles, and meticulous 
preparation to deflect attention from 
their gender identity. A set of mental and 
communal strategies is also identified, whereby women founders use to 
persevere and successfully raise funding 
for their companies. The research is 
framed within a feminist theoretical 
perspective, utilizing the concept of 
neoliberal stigma-power (Tyler and 
Slater, 2018) to contextualize the 
structural barriers faced by women 
founders. The study concludes that while 
women founders are resourceful, the 
investment landscape remains deeply 
biased and needs systemic change to 
create a more fair and equitable 
environment. The findings contribute to 
the limited body of research on gender, 
women, and investment, highlighting the 
need for increased gender diversity in 
investment committees and a 
reevaluation of how success is 
entrepreneurial world.
      Shared with the World by Elangkathir Duhindan
 
	  
