Storyboard of the findings based on Pratt (2008) and Rockmann and Vaugh (2023).
| Power quotes | Proof quotes | |
|---|---|---|
| First | Frontstage | |
| “The European incubator is aligned with global sustainability objectives. The topics particularly emphasised include sustainable economic practices, equity, and social innovation.” (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | Our work on the Inclusion Ecosystem takes our mission one step further: to ensure that these entrepreneurial and innovative solutions have a positive impact for all. This means that entrepreneurial communities, companies, governments, and NGOs should represent and reflect all of society. (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | |
| A recent themed edition of an incubator programme was designed for entrepreneurs making a positive impact on social themes such as immigration, (refugee) integration, discrimination, LGBTQ + rights, gender equality, disability, or poverty. Participants were encouraged to refine their business while joining a growing network of social impact-focused entrepreneurs.” (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | “Well, in terms of how we communicate ourselves to the world, so if, if you come to our impact business, we do try to be very inclusive in everything and let everyone reflect on what we do. um, so from our point of view, that drive is there in any case, but I don’t really know if there are specific strategies, or if, things behind it yet. At least the branding I’m sure they do talk about it and work on it.” (Interviewee 2, a male employee) | |
| “A collaborative initiative runs programmes, organises events, and fosters partnerships to make a positive impact on issues such as immigration, social integration, discrimination, LGBTQ + rights, gender equality, disability, or poverty. (Incubator Case Study, 2021)” | ||
| An international entrepreneurship programme that drives change by empowering female impact entrepreneurs. The programme is open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aim to have a strong and sustainable social and/or environmental impact. (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | ||
| “Uhm, so that’s uh, so I think there’s really a conscious, uh I don’t know, there’s really looked at what kind of imagery do we put down, so that it's not just white men, but it’s also just women and people of color and yes of everything yes.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | ||
| “In a special event focused on sustainability, the discussion explored inclusion from a plural perspective, through the lenses of gender equality within the framework of global sustainability goals.” (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | ||
| Transition |
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| ||
| ||
| Second | Backstage | |
| “So, I, uh, have never really been aware of whether men and women ask for different things, or, for example, ask for more or fewer things than the other” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | “Whether that happens more often, because last time was Fashion, for example, I can also imagine this attracts more women, for example, in terms of themes. I think, said, we can say more about themes and that relationship” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | |
| “Man, man, man, man, woman, man, also this is also a man, man, ooh, wow anyway really predominantly men.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | “There are a lot of conversations going on about it, also really of what do we think the most?” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | |
| “Uhm, we do have kind of a struggle about that of what is inclusion … but then if you had to say, what the common thread is, it’s really of including groups that are not currently involved in a topic or sector.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | “I don’t really have that for the rest right now, something like that’s really very different between men and women. No.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | |
| “Uhm, we do have kind of a struggle about that of what is inclusion … but then if you had to say, what the common thread is, it’s really of including groups that are not currently involved in a topic or sector.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | “But I understood that there were far fewer sign-ups than usual which also makes you much more likely to admit people you wouldn’t otherwise …. we find this inclusive while normally you would put that under general.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | |
| “I always do feel like there are enough women in there and then I just do 50/50 like maybe sometimes a little more sometimes a little less.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | “Yes, inclusion is perhaps the opposite of exclusion also so yes, include everyone and everything in your activities.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | |
| “We have a female CEO, we do a lot of programmes around female entrepreneurship, and I feel like with our new website, or our branding in general we’re also appealing to that female side a bit more.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | “We just have to devote a whole theme edition to it … It just fits in with what is going on in society now.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | |
| “No, not at all, also if you look at our team and also at these groups so, we are much more of a female environment than a male environment. So. No, so no, in our bubble I don’t see that.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | “Yes, the funny thing is because of your research, I am becoming aware of this at all. I had almost never really thought about it except I noticed that more women work in this sector than in sectors where my (male) friends work. Just saying, that’s the difference. (…) But I think that has to do with men being more purely commercial.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | |
| “I thought it was interesting when [the manager] mentioned learning at [a company or organization] that when a female entrepreneur asks an investor, the question is often about what they’ve done [with financial discissions in your entrepreneurial journey]. While with a male entrepreneur, it’s more about what they’re going to do with the money. It seems there’s a difference in how they’re judged [by the VC’s]. Maybe I’ve done something similar myself, but I’m not sure, so I find it intriguing.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | ||
| Transition |
| |
| ||
| ||
| Third | Onstage | |
| “Yes, you can of course, if you are aware of those biases, and we are, you can pay extra attention to it during a training, by actively inviting certain people or just being more aware internally, how attention can be paid to it in the training.” (Interviewee 8, male participant) | “I don’t think we [women] are having a harder time than men in the Netherlands. It’s true that women are paid less, but not within the field of entrepreneurship, I think.” (Interviewee, a female incubatee) | |
| “No, I think maybe there is, maybe some women say of that a lot of trainers are always male.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | “Well, what can be interesting is that they offer something, but it shouldn’t be like oh we women have to have help. It has to have some kind of happy edge or an empowering edge or something.” (Interviewee 9, female participant) | |
| “If you want to be gender inclusive as a programme, you will also have to make sure that your trainers and employees are gender inclusive.” (interviewee 4, a female participant) | “I think that women are not really expected to be entrepreneurs, that doesn’t fit the picture. They have to adopt a certain masculine matter-of-factness, which is maybe generally seen as more masculine.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | |
| “But the trainers and so on that, I think they do fail tremendously there I think.” (Interviewee, female participant) | “Mm no, I don’t think so, I think in, I mean, yes, of course you have corporate that’s I think very different, but I’m kind of in that sustainability, that social bubble.” (Interviewee 8, female participant) | |
| “Wow that actually does shock me the low proportion of women raising venture capital/funding.” (Interviewee 8, female participant) | “Well, I think the impact hub is the most inclusive group you can end up in.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | |
| “No, yes, it is called inclusion, but it is not quite that yet, right?” (Interviewee 6, female participant) | “If I had done that as a woman, that association would have been made much quicker.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | |
| “Come on people, if you really want it to be genuinely inclusive, then you should also try a little harder to make sure there are people who can teach, everyone I’ve seen is also “white” for example.” (interviewee 4, female participant) | “Yes, you can of course, if you are aware of those biases, and we are, you can pay extra attention to it during a training, by actively inviting certain people or just being more aware internally, how attention can be paid to it in the training.” (Interviewee 8, male participant) | |
| In the beginning she had a difficult start, and she wants a female mentor of colour she says now (the mentor gives feedback that they should provide a network for inclusive people) (observation, mentor) | We talked about how they could avoid this in the future and so this problem has now occurred twice in this edition (inclusion). (about leaving the programme, with a mismatch inclusion wise) (observation, mentor) | |
| “And also indeed of I also really did hear some negative things back from it, from the group.” (Interviewee 4, female participant) | “I did have the soft spot of, like, you know, they really inspired me. And yeah. So, there was this positive view towards them. Yes. So that probably made me more likely to consider the incubator. It’s also true.” (Interviewee 10, female (ex) participant) | |
| “Look it doesn’t surprise me, young men coming in and saying, oh I can help you, but how is he going to help me when the only company he has set up is a consultancy firm? We have long since had mentors with much more experience, with real track records.” (Interviewee 10, female (ex) participant) | ||
| Transition |
| |
| ||
| ||
| Power quotes | Proof quotes | |
|---|---|---|
| “The European incubator is aligned with global sustainability objectives. The topics particularly emphasised include sustainable economic practices, equity, and social innovation.” (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | Our work on the Inclusion Ecosystem takes our mission one step further: to ensure that these entrepreneurial and innovative solutions have a positive impact for all. This means that entrepreneurial communities, companies, governments, and NGOs should represent and reflect all of society. (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | |
| A recent themed edition of an incubator programme was designed for entrepreneurs making a positive impact on social themes such as immigration, (refugee) integration, discrimination, LGBTQ + rights, gender equality, disability, or poverty. Participants were encouraged to refine their business while joining a growing network of social impact-focused entrepreneurs.” (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | “Well, in terms of how we communicate ourselves to the world, so if, if you come to our impact business, we do try to be very inclusive in everything and let everyone reflect on what we do. um, so from our point of view, that drive is there in any case, but I don’t really know if there are specific strategies, or if, things behind it yet. At least the branding I’m sure they do talk about it and work on it.” (Interviewee 2, a male employee) | |
| “A collaborative initiative runs programmes, organises events, and fosters partnerships to make a positive impact on issues such as immigration, social integration, discrimination, LGBTQ + rights, gender equality, disability, or poverty. (Incubator Case Study, 2021)” | ||
| An international entrepreneurship programme that drives change by empowering female impact entrepreneurs. The programme is open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aim to have a strong and sustainable social and/or environmental impact. (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | ||
| “Uhm, so that’s uh, so I think there’s really a conscious, uh I don’t know, there’s really looked at what kind of imagery do we put down, so that it's not just white men, but it’s also just women and people of color and yes of everything yes.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | ||
| “In a special event focused on sustainability, the discussion explored inclusion from a plural perspective, through the lenses of gender equality within the framework of global sustainability goals.” (Incubator Case Study, 2021) | ||
| Transition | Frontstage, a diverse range of entrepreneurs is showcased | |
This is evident on the website and promotional materials through varied images and texts | ||
Moreover, the organisation targets this group with a specific gender-inclusive incubator cohort | ||
| “So, I, uh, have never really been aware of whether men and women ask for different things, or, for example, ask for more or fewer things than the other” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | “Whether that happens more often, because last time was Fashion, for example, I can also imagine this attracts more women, for example, in terms of themes. I think, said, we can say more about themes and that relationship” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | |
| “Man, man, man, man, woman, man, also this is also a man, man, ooh, wow anyway really predominantly men.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | “There are a lot of conversations going on about it, also really of what do we think the most?” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | |
| “Uhm, we do have kind of a struggle about that of what is inclusion … but then if you had to say, what the common thread is, it’s really of including groups that are not currently involved in a topic or sector.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | “I don’t really have that for the rest right now, something like that’s really very different between men and women. No.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | |
| “Uhm, we do have kind of a struggle about that of what is inclusion … but then if you had to say, what the common thread is, it’s really of including groups that are not currently involved in a topic or sector.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | “But I understood that there were far fewer sign-ups than usual which also makes you much more likely to admit people you wouldn’t otherwise …. we find this inclusive while normally you would put that under general.” (Interviewee 1, female employee) | |
| “I always do feel like there are enough women in there and then I just do 50/50 like maybe sometimes a little more sometimes a little less.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | “Yes, inclusion is perhaps the opposite of exclusion also so yes, include everyone and everything in your activities.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | |
| “We have a female CEO, we do a lot of programmes around female entrepreneurship, and I feel like with our new website, or our branding in general we’re also appealing to that female side a bit more.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | “We just have to devote a whole theme edition to it … It just fits in with what is going on in society now.” (Interviewee 2, male employee) | |
| “No, not at all, also if you look at our team and also at these groups so, we are much more of a female environment than a male environment. So. No, so no, in our bubble I don’t see that.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | “Yes, the funny thing is because of your research, I am becoming aware of this at all. I had almost never really thought about it except I noticed that more women work in this sector than in sectors where my (male) friends work. Just saying, that’s the difference. (…) But I think that has to do with men being more purely commercial.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | |
| “I thought it was interesting when [the manager] mentioned learning at [a company or organization] that when a female entrepreneur asks an investor, the question is often about what they’ve done [with financial discissions in your entrepreneurial journey]. While with a male entrepreneur, it’s more about what they’re going to do with the money. It seems there’s a difference in how they’re judged [by the VC’s]. Maybe I’ve done something similar myself, but I’m not sure, so I find it intriguing.” (Interviewee 3, male employee) | ||
| Transition | True gender inclusivity extends beyond achieving numerical gender balance | |
Several participants observed the incubator’s efforts to increase the number of women entrepreneurs | ||
However, merely boosting numbers doesn’t sufficiently change entrenched masculine norms | ||
| “Yes, you can of course, if you are aware of those biases, and we are, you can pay extra attention to it during a training, by actively inviting certain people or just being more aware internally, how attention can be paid to it in the training.” (Interviewee 8, male participant) | “I don’t think we [women] are having a harder time than men in the Netherlands. It’s true that women are paid less, but not within the field of entrepreneurship, I think.” (Interviewee, a female incubatee) | |
| “No, I think maybe there is, maybe some women say of that a lot of trainers are always male.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | “Well, what can be interesting is that they offer something, but it shouldn’t be like oh we women have to have help. It has to have some kind of happy edge or an empowering edge or something.” (Interviewee 9, female participant) | |
| “If you want to be gender inclusive as a programme, you will also have to make sure that your trainers and employees are gender inclusive.” (interviewee 4, a female participant) | “I think that women are not really expected to be entrepreneurs, that doesn’t fit the picture. They have to adopt a certain masculine matter-of-factness, which is maybe generally seen as more masculine.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | |
| “But the trainers and so on that, I think they do fail tremendously there I think.” (Interviewee, female participant) | “Mm no, I don’t think so, I think in, I mean, yes, of course you have corporate that’s I think very different, but I’m kind of in that sustainability, that social bubble.” (Interviewee 8, female participant) | |
| “Wow that actually does shock me the low proportion of women raising venture capital/funding.” (Interviewee 8, female participant) | “Well, I think the impact hub is the most inclusive group you can end up in.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | |
| “No, yes, it is called inclusion, but it is not quite that yet, right?” (Interviewee 6, female participant) | “If I had done that as a woman, that association would have been made much quicker.” (Interviewee 5, male participant) | |
| “Come on people, if you really want it to be genuinely inclusive, then you should also try a little harder to make sure there are people who can teach, everyone I’ve seen is also “white” for example.” (interviewee 4, female participant) | “Yes, you can of course, if you are aware of those biases, and we are, you can pay extra attention to it during a training, by actively inviting certain people or just being more aware internally, how attention can be paid to it in the training.” (Interviewee 8, male participant) | |
| In the beginning she had a difficult start, and she wants a female mentor of colour she says now (the mentor gives feedback that they should provide a network for inclusive people) (observation, mentor) | We talked about how they could avoid this in the future and so this problem has now occurred twice in this edition (inclusion). (about leaving the programme, with a mismatch inclusion wise) (observation, mentor) | |
| “And also indeed of I also really did hear some negative things back from it, from the group.” (Interviewee 4, female participant) | “I did have the soft spot of, like, you know, they really inspired me. And yeah. So, there was this positive view towards them. Yes. So that probably made me more likely to consider the incubator. It’s also true.” (Interviewee 10, female (ex) participant) | |
| “Look it doesn’t surprise me, young men coming in and saying, oh I can help you, but how is he going to help me when the only company he has set up is a consultancy firm? We have long since had mentors with much more experience, with real track records.” (Interviewee 10, female (ex) participant) | ||
| Transition | The gap between public image (front stage) and internal practices (back stage) becomes more evident at this stage | |
Participants stress that the incubator should lead in creating a gender-inclusive environment, but this is still lacking in the programme | ||
Moreover, all role models (for instance mentors and trainers) are still men | ||
Source(s): Authors’ own work
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