According to a recent study, male entrepreneurs are significantly less likely than either female entrepreneurs or candidates with no entrepreneurial background, to be invited for a job interview.
The research was conducted by Olenka Kacperczyk, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School (LBS) in conjunction with the University of Oregon in the USA. They were interested in the fact that whilst there is “widespread interest in encouraging entrepreneurship”, statistics show that only 40% of new businesses survive for more than five years, which raises the question “What happens to ex-founders when they apply for jobs?”
The study itself involved sending out over 1,200 CVs to employers looking for marketing or HR Managers and Directors in a range of industries. None of the CVs were accompanied by a covering letter.
Every recruiter received applications from two candidates who had similar backgrounds in working for a large employer for an equal number of years, in similar positions. One candidate had then left to found their own small business, while the other went on to be employed at another company, with a similar role and responsibilities.
The study found that men with a history of founding a new venture were less likely to be asked to an interview because employers believed them to be “worse fits and less committed employees than comparable candidates without founding experience.”
Interestingly however, there was no comparable penalty for female ex-founders. The study put forward that this is because women are “often perceived as illegitimate founders” therefore “employers do not treat their entrepreneurial efforts as revealing unwanted attributes and are correspondingly more likely to hire them than male ex-founders.”
Olenka Kacperczyk said:
“Entrepreneurship is a masculine activity and women are not associated with it. We are showing that there is a bias.”
She added:
“There is a penalty for founders…..They are not seen as being committed or a good cultural fit. There is a real career cost of entrepreneurship for those that go back to employment.”
