How Gender Informs Support Nudges for Women STEM-Entrepreneurs by Women Business Incubation Managers

This paper critically analyses the influence of gendered ascriptions and assumptions upon support offered by women business incubation (BI) managers to women STEM entrepreneurs. We draw upon the concept of nudges to illustrate how women managers guide female clients to behave to navigate gendered challenges during the investment-readiness process. Using an interpretive ontology and social constructionist feminist epistemology we draw upon in-depth, semi-structured interviews with women BI managers and women STEM entrepreneurs. Findings illustrate the gendered BI context encourages gender-aware managers to nudge clients towards behaviours congruent with prevailing masculinised norms, navigating rather than challenging gender-bias, to secure investment.