Description
The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of gendered communication on women's behavioral intentions regarding nonprofit and for-profit entrepreneurship. Women represent half of the U.S. workforce, but only about one third of all American entrepreneurs are women. Feminists have argued that because entrepreneurship is largely understood as a masculine activity, women — who are predominantly socialized to espouse a feminine gender role — are less likely to become entrepreneurs. Previous scholarship and the particular theoretical lens of social feminism suggest that communication about entrepreneurship that is congruent with a feminine gender role would lead to the recruitment of a greater number of women entrepreneurs. Findings of the current study, however, suggested the opposite, providing support for poststructuralist feminist theory. Women who viewed a feminine entrepreneurship recruiting brochure about entrepreneurship reported themselves to be more feminine and less likely to report intentions to become entrepreneurs than women who viewed a masculine entrepreneurship recruiting brochure. These findings suggested that feminine communication may prime women to think of themselves as feminine, which may then lead them to view themselves as not masculine enough to be entrepreneurs. The applications of these findings stretch beyond engaging more women in entrepreneurship and also extend to scholarship that investigates gender's effects on women's pursuit of other masculine careers, including those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Until the larger discourse on entrepreneurship changes to be inclusive of femininity, it is unlikely that strategies that feminize entrepreneurial activity in controlled situations will have an effect on changing the patterns of women's entrepreneurial intentions.
Details
Title
- The effect of gendered communication on women's behavioral intentions regarding nonprofit and for-profit entrepreneurship
Contributors
- Iffert, Audrey (Author)
- Montoya, Mitzi M. (Thesis advisor)
- Rund, James (Thesis advisor)
- Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2014
Subjects
- Entrepreneurship
- Communication
- Education (Higher)
- Business
- Communication
- Entrepreneurship
- Gender
- Women
- Entrepreneurship--United States--Psychological aspects.
- Entrepreneurship
- Women in the professions--United States--Psychological aspects.
- Women in the professions
- Women's mass media--United States--Psychological aspects.
- Women's mass media
- Women in mass media--Psychological aspects.
- Women in mass media
- Mass media and business--United States--Psychological aspects.
- Mass media and business
- Mass media and women--United States--Psychological aspects.
- Mass media and women
- Sex role in mass media--Psychological aspects.
- Sex role in mass media
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: Ed. D., Arizona State University, 2014
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (p. 136-155)
- Field of study: Educational administration and supervision
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Audrey Iffert