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Still, differences in participation exist in ways beyond what the numbers may suggest.Įven in these programs with an intentional gender balance, Getzler noted that women more often hesitated to position themselves in leadership roles compared to their male counterparts, despite being equally or more qualified. The Institute’s application-based programs, such as its flagship LehighSiliconValley program, which immerses students in Bay Area startups, often include 45% to 50% women because program leaders can design the cohorts with diversity in mind. These efforts began with an emphasis on deepening the participation of students who identify as female. “About four years ago we began to dive into the numbers.” “I have always been aware of gender disparity around entrepreneurial activities at Lehigh,” Getzler said. and around the globe, women participate in entrepreneurial endeavors at a lower rate than men.”
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“That could be partly because of role modeling, not seeing themselves in a world of entrepreneurial founders at as great a rate as those who identify as male,” Getzler said. These numbers mean that while only 1.5 in 10 pitches are given by women, 50% of those who make the most progress are women.Īs is the case in many business settings, Getzler also finds that Lehigh women entrepreneurs often hesitate to put themselves forward until they feel they have all the assets and knowledge they need to succeed. The grand prize competition is a culminating event that recognizes the three top performing student ventures, awarding $5,000 to the winner. and John M.Thalheimer ’55 Grand Prize winners in the last 10 years have been women. Getzler noted that while fewer women pitched student venture projects, the ones who did pitch excelled-50% of the Baker Institute’s EUREKA! Joan F. The percentage of women putting forward ideas during pitch nights has remained in the range of 10% to 15%. While the numbers of men and women in Lehigh’s introductory Entrepreneurship 101 course have consistently shown an even balance, a disparity grows sharply at the more advanced level. The effort found momentum when Baker Institute Executive Director Lisa Getzler recognized that far fewer women than men were proposing student venture projects during the institute’s EUREKA! Venture Program Pitch Nights, a monthly initiative that allows students to pitch business ideas to a panel of reviewers, with an opportunity to win funding, mentoring and other resources to help get their ideas off the ground. began as a grassroots effort to explore a long-time gender imbalance in student entrepreneurship on campus. What is now a research-backed initiative with goals to improve diversity, inclusion and equity in Baker Institute programs, R.I.S.E. It’s an issue that Lehigh’s Baker Institute is tackling with the launch of Rightful Inclusive Student Entrepreneurship, or R.I.S.E. “People tend to gravitate toward groups of people who look like them, so if minority groups aren’t represented, there will be less minority groups in that field and less attracted to it.” You don’t often see women in that role,” Karim said. “A lot of times when you think of a business owner, you think of a white man. She had the educational background and drive to get her company started, but Karim admits it was intimidating as a minority woman. Karim is the daughter of an African American mother and Bangladeshi father, and she has struggled since she was a young girl to find a hair care routine that enhanced her long curls without weighing them down or creating frizz.Ī bioengineering major with a minor in entrepreneurship, Karim designed her product from personal experience. Sareena Karim ’22 remembers the first time she pitched the idea for her custom hair care company, Foli-Q, at the EUREKA! Venture Program Pitch Night powered by Lehigh’s Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation.