Tapping into one’s network for human capital is vital for any aspiring entrepreneur, and so the ability to develop and cultivate that network is crucially important. Developing those connections is often difficult however, not least for women operating in traditionally male fields.
Recent research from Columbia University highlights how crucial gender is in the kind of networking entrepreneurs must engage in. The study analyzes the networks of a bunch of entrepreneurs, and comes to the rather depressing finding that decision makers appear to prefer male contacts when they’re making a third-party referral, especially in sectors that are dominated by men. This bias vanishes in fields that are either more gender neutral or more commonly associated with women, but that is scant consolation.
The research challenges the notion that if women aren’t getting value from networking, it’s because they aren’t doing it properly or are in bad networks. Instead, it suggests that there are fundamental biases at play that limit the potential of networking for female entrepreneurs.
Network biases
“We know that gender inequities happen all the time — men and women in the same job experience differences in outcomes,” the researchers say. “So why would we think that putting women in the same networks as men would lead to equal outcomes?”
The study utilized data from a networking organization designed to help entrepreneurs grow their client list. In total there were 2,310 entrepreneurs operating across 37 networks. The aim was to compare the benefits obtained by men and women on the site.
Two types of exchange were identified. The first of these was a form of dyadic exchange between people who were members of the same group. The second, and probably more useful exchange, was a more triadic exchange between people of different groups. Friend of a friend if you like.
The researchers suggest that dyadic exchanges don’t really require much consideration of the other person so it allows for an exploration of potential biases.
“That gave me the opportunity to look at personal biases,” they explain. “If a male is willing to share with a female in the same way he would share with a male counterpart, that suggests he is not biased, or at least not exhibiting bias.”
Things tend to be more complex in triadic exchanges, as we tend to think more about how the other person would react to the individual we’re referring. If they may have biases against them, then that’s a consideration when we decide whether to refer or not.
Biased referrals
The data shows a clear lack of any biases in dyadic exchanges, but clear discrimination in triadic exchanges, especially when referring women into traditionally male-dominated fields, such as software engineering or contracting.
“Everybody knows that it’s not as common for women to be contractors,” the researchers say. “The assumption is that an outside contact is going to find it jarring to be connected to a female contractor. As a result, people are less likely to make these exchanges for women in masculine fields.”
The paper concludes with some suggestions for how such a scenario can be overcome. Firstly, they advocate a more direct style of networking that would involve female entrepreneurs going directly to the contact they want to meet rather than via a third party. This is undoubtedly harder and requires more effort, but the researchers believe it’s better to accept the current for what it is rather than wait for our current social structure to change and become more equitable.
Despite this, they also believe it’s vital that we raise awareness of the biases that operate against women so that false assumptions can be broken down.
“We all need to question the assumption that other people prefer or expect a man in certain fields,” the researchers conclude. “That might mean simply gathering more information about the actual preferences of others. This will help us to overcome some portion of this disadvantage facing women.”
