From imposter fears to authenticity: a typology of women entrepreneurs

Research has established that entrepreneurship is a masculine domain in which women are likely to experience identity conflict due to the diverging meanings and behavioral expectations of being an entrepreneur versus being a woman. In this study, we adopt a social identity perspective to investigate how women entrepreneurs perceive their gender in the face of this potential identity conflict. By analyzing the narratives from 20 in-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs, complemented by three focus groups with 44 further women, we contribute to entrepreneurship literature by offering a typology of women entrepreneurs. Based on their perceived gender-entrepreneurial fit and mindset, we characterize these entrepreneurs as experiencing imposter feelings, acceptance, or authenticity. Through this typology, our research illustrates that there is variation in women’s perception of their gender in entrepreneurship, indicating that, while some women entrepreneurs experience imposter feelings from the identity conflict of being both a woman and an entrepreneur, others avoid or overcome such an identity conflict, finding ways to benefit from being different in the face of male dominated views of entrepreneurial success. Plain English Summary We illustrate how women perceive their gender in the face of a possible identity conflict in entrepreneurship. Depending on their perceived gender-entrepreneurial fit and mindset, they experience imposter feelings, acceptance, or authenticity. Although more women are becoming entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurship field is still dominated by men. One of the reasons may be the fact that women often feel they do not “fit in” as entrepreneurs and consider themselves (and are seen) as being less legitimate and successful than their male counterparts. In our study, we propose a typology of women entrepreneurs, which we classify as experiencing imposter feelings, acceptance, or authenticity depending on their perceived gender-entrepreneurial fit and mindset. Thus, the principal implication of this study is to shed light on how women see themselves as entrepreneurs and offer evidence that can help us better understand and support women’s entrepreneurship.