As quatro qualidades postas em dúvida nas mulheres
WE RECORDED VCs CONVERSATIONS AND ANALYZED HOW DIFFERENTLY THEY TALK ABOUT FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
1 When venture capitalists (VCs) evaluate investment proposals, the language they use to describe the
2 entrepreneurs who write them plays an important but often hidden role in shaping who is awarded funding
3 and why.[…] We were given access to government venture capital decision making meetings in Sweden and
4 were able to observe the types of language that VCs used over a two-year period. One major thing stuck out:
5 The language used to describe male and female entrepreneurs was radically different. And these differences
6 have very real consequences for those seeking funding — and for society in general.
7 […] Worldwide, government venture capital is important for bridging significant financial gaps and
8 supporting innovation and growth, as VCs can take risks where banks are not allowed to. When uncertainty is
9 high regarding assessment of product and market potential, for example, the assessment of the
10 entrepreneur’s potential becomes highly central in government VCs’ decision making.
11 In Sweden, about one-third of businesses are owned and run by women, although they are not granted
12 a corresponding proportion of government funding. In fact, women-owned businesses receive much less —
13 only 13%–18%, the rest going to male-owned companies.
14 This brings us back to our research. From 2009 to 2010 we were invited to silently observe
15 governmental VC decision-making meetings and, more important, the conversations they had about
16 entrepreneurs applying for funding. […] We observed closed-room, face-to-face discussions leading final
17 funding decisions for 125 venture applications. Of these, 99 (79%) were from male entrepreneurs and 26
18 (21%) were from female entrepreneurs. The group of government venture capitalists observed included
19 seven individuals: two women and five men. […]
20 Aside from a few exceptions, the financiers rhetorically produce stereotypical images of women as
21 having qualities opposite to those considered important to being an entrepreneur, with VCs questioning their
22 credibility, trustworthiness, experience, and knowledge.
23 Conversely, when assessing male entrepreneurs, financiers leaned on stereotypical beliefs about men
24 that reinforced their entrepreneurial potential. Male entrepreneurs were commonly described as being
25 assertive, innovative, competent, experienced, knowledgeable, and having established networks.
26 We developed male and female entrepreneur personas based on our findings […]. These personas
27 highlight a few key differences in how the entrepreneurs were perceived depending on their gender. Men
28 were characterized as having entrepreneurial potential, while the entrepreneurial potential for women was
29 diminished. Many of the young men and women were described as being young, though youth for men was
30 viewed as promising, while young women were considered inexperienced. Men were praised for being
31 viewed as aggressive or arrogant, while women’s experience and excitement were tempered by discussions
32 of their emotional shortcomings. Similarly, cautiousness was viewed very differently depending on the gender
33 of the entrepreneur.
34 Unsurprisingly, these stereotypes seem to have played a role in who got funding and who didn’t.
35 Women entrepreneurs were only awarded, on average, 25% of the applied-for amount, whereas men
36 received, on average, 52% of what they asked for. Women were also denied financing to a greater extent
37 than men, with close to 53% of women having their applications dismissed, compared with 38% of men. […]
38 Such stereotyping will inevitably influence the distribution of financing, but could also have other major
39 consequences. Because the purpose of government venture capital is to use tax money to stimulate growth
40 and value creation for society as a whole, gender bias presents the risk that the money isn’t being invested in
41 businesses that have the highest potential. This isn’t only damaging for women entrepreneurs; it’s potentially
42 damaging for society as a whole.
Fonte: Adaptado de Harvard Business Review <https://hbr.org/2017/05/we-recorded-vcs-conversations-and-analyzed- how-differently-they-talk-about-female-entrepreneurs>. Acesso em: 17 mai. 2017.
Fonte: Harvard Business Review, 2017-05.
Marque a opção que lista qualidades expostas no texto que foram colocadas em dúvida em relação às empreendedoras.
- A) Experiência, cautela, juventude e liderança.
- B) Potencial para inovação, competência, assertividade e entusiasmo.
- C) Entusiasmo, potencial de crescimento, confiabilidade e competitividade.
- D) Assertividade, conhecimento de mercado, competência e determinação.
- E) Conhecimento, credibilidade, experiência e confiabilidade.