3rd year PhD presentation - Constanza Reyes

Supervisors: Helle Neergaard & Claus Thrane
Discussants: Signe Hedeboe Frederiksen & Pernille Smith

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate how women technology entrepreneurs interpret their experiences in male dominated technology-based incubators and how they construct these as gendered structures. In order to achieve this aim, we deconstruct and reconstruct the narratives of their entrepreneurial experiences.

Twelve women technology entrepreneurs in incubators and accelerators environments in a large university in Denmark were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using the three main feminist perspectives in entrepreneurship, i.e., liberal, social, and poststructuralist in order to understand how they position themselves and interpret their experiences. Afterwards, an inductive coding process was conducted to identify the main common topics of their entrepreneurial journey.

From this analysis, a typology of three women technology entrepreneurs emerged. First, those who act as ´honorary men´ and adapt to gendered structures. Second, those who act in a ‘neutral ‘way expecting that the gendered structures will fix themselves over time. Finally, those who ´retain their inner woman´ and aspire to change the system from within to demonstrate that technology entrepreneurship can be performed differently from a woman´s perspective.

Everyone is welcome!