Dr Janine Swail.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems: the networks, organisations, and funding systems that support startup ventures, might seem open to all. But they’re far from gender neutral, the researchers say.

“The strong association of masculine traits with entrepreneurship persists, hindering gender equity,” says de Bruin.

In a new paper, de Bruin and Swail examine how gender dynamics shape startup ecosystems, and how feminist theories can be used to make them more inclusive and equitable.

“If you think about Auckland’s startup sector, it’s still pretty ‘tech bro’,” says Swail. “We need to rethink what it means to be inclusive in entrepreneurship.”

She says this starts with challenging the norms that shape entrepreneurial culture – norms that can make women and non-binary people feel unwelcome.

“Imagine you’re a female deep-tech entrepreneur looking for a lab or an accelerator programme,” says Swail. “You walk into a space that feels overwhelmingly masculine; in-jokes, blokey language, a boys club. It can be difficult to feel like you belong, let alone thrive.”

One of the biggest barriers? Unacknowledged gender bias baked into the structures and language of entrepreneurship. De Bruin points to New Zealand’s finance ecosystem, where most venture capitalists are men.

“The way people communicate and operate in that world is often coded in a very masculine way. Language matters, and when we start to unpack it, we see how women and others are often excluded, even unintentionally.”

If New Zealand wants to develop a genuinely diverse startup sector, we need to question who it’s built for, and who’s being left out.

Feminist theories argue for a shift from accepting the status quo to actively creating gender-equitable ecosystems.

One international organisation the researchers point to doing just that is Coralus (originally SheEO). Formerly led in New Zealand by Dame Theresa Gattung, Coralus was launched in Canada in 2015 as an experiment in more equitable funding for women and nonbinary people. Since then, it has flipped the traditional funding model favouring male-led ventures and distributed nearly $19 million to more than 190 female- and non-binary-led ventures using a collective decision-making model.

“By challenging traditional funding structures, Coralus reimagines what an entrepreneurial ecosystem can look like,” says Swail. “Even the name change – from SheEO to Coralus – reflects a broader, more inclusive vision.”

If New Zealand wants to develop a genuinely diverse startup sector, we need to question who it’s built for, and who’s being left out, says de Bruin. “We can create new pathways and build a future for entrepreneurship that’s more inclusive, more equitable, and ultimately, more innovative.”