Keywords
Startups
Female founders
Relationship between women
How to Cite
Abstract
Purpose – Analyze the adherence of women founders and co-founders of startups to Queen Bee Phenomenon (QBP) attitudes.
Theoretical framework – We engaged the three dimensions of the QBP to understand how female founders of startups relate to other women in the work environment and how they deal with male professional culture they are inserted in. We have also engaged gender career literature to underpin cooperative relations between women.
Design/methodology/approach – Our research approach characterizes as qualitative. We employed semi-structured interviews with 30 women founders of startups. We approached the abductive analytical procedure. The authors carried out the coding process independently and we obtained adequate values of reliability in the coding procedures.
Findings – The participants declared to assimilate to male traits. Nevertheless, they did not distance from their gender identity group. Nor did they legitimize the gender hierarchy. Thus, we denied our proposed assumption that women founders of startups exhibit strong QBP adherence.
Research Practical & Social implications – This study contributes to the theoretical advancement of QBP as it analyzes a male context where BQ attitudes are not salient. Simultaneously, we suggest gender bias awareness as a variable that impacts QB attitudes. Although cooperation among women reduces QB attitudes, it does not reduce gender inequality at work. Thus, on behalf of social implications, we reinforce the need for structural changes to achieve gender equality.
Originality/value – The relation between women is little examined in startup contexts and we found no studies that analyzed female founders of startups through the prism of the QBP.
Keywords – Queen Bee Phenomenon; Startups; Female Founders; Relation Between Women.
References
Abalkhail, J. M. (2020). Women managing women: Hierarchical relationships and career impact. Career Development International, 25(4), 389-413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/CDI-01-2019-0020.
Araújo, G. M. (2021). Mulheres empreendedoras: As principais fundadoras de startups no Brasil. Panorama Digital, 5, 1-12. http://observatoriodigital.sites.uff.br/panorama-digital/
Arvate, P. R., Galilea, G. W., & Todescat, I. (2018). The queen bee: A myth? The effect of top-level female leadership on subordinate females. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(5), 533-548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.03.002.
Associação Brasileira de Startups – Abstartups. (2021). Radiografia do ecossistema brasileiro de startups. https://ecossistemasdestartups.com.br
Balachandra, L., Briggs, T., Eddleston, K., & Brush, C. (2019). Don’t pitch like a girl! How gender stereotypes influence investor decisions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 43(1), 116-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1042258717728028.
Bertolami, M., Artes, R., Gonçalves, P. J., Hashimoto, M., & Lazzarini, S. G. (2018). Survival of nascent firms: Effects of human and social capital, management practices, and gender. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 22, 311-335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2018160121.
Carrieri, A. D. P., Diniz, A. P. R., Souza, E. M. D., & Menezes, R. S. S. (2013). Gender and work: Representations of femininities and masculinities in the view of women. BAR - Brazilian Administration Review, 10(3), 281-303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1807-76922013005000002.
Carvalho No., A. M. D., Tanure, B., & Andrade, J. (2010). Executivas: Carreira, maternidade, amores e preconceitos. RAE Eletrônica, 9(1), 1-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-56482010000100004.
Censon, D., Reis, C. U. F. D., Medaglia, J., & Nakatani, M. S. M. (2022). The trajectories of women in Tourism teaching and research. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Turismo, 16, e-2468. http://dx.doi.org/10.7784/rbtur.v16.2468.
Cheng, K. R., & Silva Jr., J. T. (2022). The role of solidarity in women’s empowerment: Narratives from Northeast Brazil. Voluntas. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11266-022-00539-7.
Coelho Jr., P. J., Holz, E. B., Sajonc, R. C., & Hein, A. S. (2022). Degendering organizations? The emergence of postfeminist networks. RAM. Revista de Administração Mackenzie, 23(3), 1-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eramg220022.en.
Cole, W. M. (2020). Working to protect rights: Women’s civil liberties in cross- cultural perspective. Social Science Research, 91, 102461. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102461. PMid:32933651.
Derks, B., Ellemers, N., Van Laar, C., & De Groot, K. (2011). Do sexist organizational cultures create the Queen Bee? British Journal of Social Psychology, 50(3), 519-535. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/014466610X525280. PMid:21884548.
Derks, B., Van Laar, C., & Ellemers, N. (2016). The queen bee phenomenon: Why women leaders distance themselves from junior women. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(3), 456-469. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.12.007.
Ellemers, N. (2014). Women at work: How organizational features impact career development. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(1), 46-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2372732214549327.
Ellemers, N., & Barreto, M. (2015). Modern discrimination: How perpetrators and targets interactively perpetuate social disadvantage. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 3, 142-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.04.001.
Faniko, K., Ellemers, N., & Derks, B. (2016). Queen Bees and Alpha Males: Are successful women more competitive than successful men? European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(7), 903-913. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2198.
Faniko, K., Ellemers, N., & Derks, B. (2021). The Queen Bee phenomenon in Academia 15 years after: Does it still exist, and if so, why? British Journal of Social Psychology, 60(2), 383-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12408. PMid:32696985.
Faniko, K., Ellemers, N., Derks, B., & Lorenzi-Cioldi, F. (2017). Nothing changes, really: Why women who break through the glass ceiling end up reinforcing it. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(5), 638-651. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167217695551. PMid:28903635.
Female Founders Report. (2021). Liderança feminina e empreendimentos no ecossistema brasileiro de inovação. https://materiais.distrito.me/mr/female-founders-report
Gomes No., M. B., Grangeiro, R. R., & Esnard, C. (2022). Academic women: A study on the queen bee phenomenon. Revista de Administração Mackenzie, 23(2), eRAMG220211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eRAMG220211.en.
Gomes No., M. B., Silva, L. E. N., Grangeiro, R. R., & Esnard, C. (2020). Hurdles and opportunities for women career in startups. Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo em Administração, 14(2), 18-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v14i2.41290.
Grangeiro, R. R., Gomes No., M. B., & Esnard, C. (2023a). Women in leadership positions in universities: Are they really queen bees? Management Research Review, 46(5), 739-754. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MRR-03-2021-0239.
Grangeiro, R. R., Gomes No., M. B., Silva, L. E. N., & Esnard, C. (2023b). The triggers and consequences of the Queen Bee phenomenon: A systematic literature review and integrative framework. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, sjop.12957. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12957.
Halpin, M., & Richard, N. (2021). An invitation to analytic abduction. Methods in Psychology, 5, 100052. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metip.2021.100052.
Harvey, V., & Tremblay, D. G. (2020). Women in the IT sector: Queen bee and gender judo strategies. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 32(4), 197-214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10672-020-09353-z.
Hirata, H., & Kergoat, D. (2007). Novas configurações da divisão sexual do trabalho. Cadernos de Pesquisas, 37(132), 595-609. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-15742007000300005.
Hurst, J., Leberman, S., & Edwards, M. (2017). The relational expectations of women managing women. Gender in Management, 32(1), 19-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/GM-02-2016-0016.
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE. (2022). Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio Contínua-PNAD 2021. https://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Trabalho_e_Rendimento/Pesquisa_Nacional_por_Amostra_de_Domicilios_continua/Trimestral/Novos_Indicadores_Sobre_a_Forca_de_Trabalho/pnadc_202104_trimestre_novos_indicadores.pdf
Jaspard, M. (2011). Les violences contre les femmes. Paris:La Découverte.
Kobal, H. Y. (2021). A qualitative study of women working in the private sector in the context of the Queen Bee phenomenon. KADEM Journal of Women’s Studies, 7(1), 53-78. https://doi.org/10.21798/kadem.2021.51.
Kuester, S., Konya-Baumbach, E., & Schuhmacher, M. C. (2018). Get the show on the road: Go-to-market strategies for e-innovations of start-ups. Journal of Business Research, 83(1), 65-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.09.037.
Lopes Fo., R. F., Paiva, L. E. B., & Lima, T. C. B. (2019). Motivações e perspectivas futuras de empreendedores de Startups. BASE Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da Unisinos, 16(4), 489-522. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/3372/337260392002/html/
Lopes, C. M. S. (2006). Direito do trabalho da mulher: Da proteção à promoção. Cadernos Pagu, 20(26), 405-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0104-83332006000100016.
Mavin, S. (2006). Venus envy: Problematizing solidarity behaviour and queen bees. Women in Management Review, 21(4), 264-276. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09649420610666579.
McAdam, M., Harrison, R. T., & Leitch, C. M. (2019). Stories from the field: Women’s networking as gender capital in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Small Business Economics, 53(2), 459-474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-9995-6.
Mickey, E. L. (2019). When gendered logics collide: Going public and restructuring in a high-tech organization. Gender & Society, 33(4), 509-533. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0891243219830944.
Nicholus, S. (2019). Maria Boa: Women, prostitution, and the queer subject in northeastern Brazil. Journal of Lusophone Studies, 4(1), 1-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.21471/jls.v4i1.308.
O’Neil, D. A., Hopkins, M. M., & Bilimoria, D. (2008). Women’s careers at the start of the 21st century: Patterns and paradoxes. Journal of Business Ethics, 80(4), 727-743. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9465-6.
O’Neil, D. A., Hopkins, M. M., & Sullivan, S. E. (2011). Do women’s networks help advance women’s careers? Differences in perceptions of female workers and top leadership. Career Development International, 16(7), 733-754. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620431111187317.
Osbeck, L. M., & Antczak, S. L. (2021). Generalizability and qualitative research: A new look at an ongoing
controversy. Qualitative Psychology, 8(1), 62-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/qup0000194.
Pavan, A. C., Ortega, L. M., & Nogueira, A. J. F. M. (2021). Quais as razões de haver poucas startups fundadas por mulheres? South American Development Society Journal, 7(20), 204. http://dx.doi.org/10.24325/issn.2446-5763.v7i20p204-219.
Ruiz Arroyo, M., del Mar Fuentes Fuentes, M., & Ruiz Jiménez, J. M. ( (2016). Um estudo internacional sobre os fatores que explicam a expectativa de alto crescimento em novos empreendimentos: Uma perspectiva de gênero. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 18(60), 171-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v18i60.1947.
Santos, N. M., Cottone, P. F., Antloga, C., Hochdorn, A., Carvalho, A. M., & Barbosa, M. A. (2022). Female entrepreneurship in Brazil: How scientific literature shapes the sociocultural construction of gender inequalities. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1), 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01359-2.PMid:35967484.
Sengul, H., Cinar, F., & Bulut, A. (2019). The perception of queen bee phenomenon in nurses: Qualitative study in health sector. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice, 22(7), 906-912. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/njcp.njcp_308_18.PMid:31293253.
Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas – Sebrae. (2023). Empreendedorismo feminino no Brasil em 2022. https://agenciasebrae.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Pesquisa-Emp-Feminino-2022.pdf
Sousa, L. F. P. S. (2021). Análise de perfil dos fundadores das primeiras startups unicórnio brasileiras. Panorama Digital, 8, 1-11. http://observatoriodigital.sites.uff.br/
panorama-digital/
Spender, J.-C., Corvello, V., Grimaldi, M., & Rippa, P. (2017). Startups and open innovation: A review of the literature. European Journal of Innovation Management, 20(1), 4-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-12-2015-0131.
Sperber, S., & Linder, C. (2023). Gender bias in it entrepreneurship: The self-referential role of male overrepresentation in digital businesses. European Journal of Information Systems, 32(5), 902-919. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2022.2075801.
Staines, G., Tavris, C., & Jayaratne, T. E. (1974). The queen bee syndrome. Psychology Today, 7(8), 55-60. Startup Heatmap Europe. (2020, November 4). Report on women entrepreneurs in Europe. https://startupsandplaces.com/startup-heatmap-europe-report-on-womenentrepreneurs-in-europe/
Ughetto, E., Rossi, M., Audretsch, D., & Lehmann, E. E. (2020). Female entrepreneurship in the digital era. Small Business Economics, 55(2), 305-312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00298-8.
Vanbelle, S. (2016). A new interpretation of the weighted kappa coefficients. Psychometrika, 81(2), 399-410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11336-014-9439-4. PMid:25516203.
Webber, G. R., & Giuffre, P. (2019). Women’s relationships with women at work: Barriers to solidarity. Sociology Compass, 13(6), 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12698.
Welsh, D. H., Kaciak, E., Fadairo, M., Doshi, V., & Lanchimba, C. (2023). How to erase gender differences in entrepreneurial success? Look at the ecosystem. Journal of Business Research, 154, 113320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113320.
West, C., & Sundaramurthy, G. (2019, October 17). Startups with at least 1 female founder hire 2.5x more women. https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/journal_posts/female_founders_hire_more_women
Wheadon, M., & Duval-Couetil, N. (2019). Token entrepreneurs: A review of gender, capital, and context in technology entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 31(3-4), 308-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1551795.
Wood, W., & Eagly, A. H. (2012). Biosocial construction of sex differences and similarities in behavior. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 55-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394281-4.00002-7.
Xiong, A., Tao, J., Li, H., & Westlund, H. (2022). Will female managers support gender equality? The study of “Queen Bee” syndrome in China. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 25(3), 544-555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12517.
If a paper is approved for publication, its copyright has to be transferred by the author(s) to the Review of Business Management – RBGN.
Accordingly, authors are REQUIRED to send RBGN a duly completed and signed Copyright Transfer Form. Please refer to the following template: [Copyright Transfer]
The conditions set out by the Copyright Transfer Form state that the Review of Business Management – RBGN owns, free of charge and permanently, the copyright of the papers it publishes. Although the authors are required to sign the Copyright Transfer Form, RBGN allows authors to hold and use their own copyright without restrictions.
The texts published by RBGN are the sole responsibility of their authors.
The review has adopted the CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 allowing redistribution and reuse of papers on condition that the authorship is properly credited.