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Asking Better Questions: The Effect of Changing Investment Organizations’ Evaluation Practices on Gender Disparities in Funding Innovation

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dc.contributor.authorMiller, Amisha
dc.contributor.authorLall, Saurabh A.
dc.contributor.authorGoldstein, Marjus
dc.contributor.authorMontalvao, Joao
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-05T18:31:09Z
dc.date.available2023-12-05T18:31:09Z
dc.date.issued2023-12-05
dc.description.abstractFemale innovators raise fewer resources from investors, even when their ventures are similar to those of all-male teams. Efforts to mitigate the disparities have typically focused on changing how founders seek investment. However, the causes of gender disparities are systemic: in uncertain contexts, evaluators value women’s competence or leadership potential lower than men’s, and investors inquire more about risks when facing female founders than males. What is the effect of investment organizations’ evaluation practices on gender disparities in funding innovation This paper examines a two-stage global field experiment with investors making 1,871 investment decisions on early-stage startups, which resulted in $320,000 invested in 16 startups. The experiment changed an organization’s evaluation framework to systematize investor inquiry across all ventures by including prompts about (1) risk and reward and (2) progress during the evaluation period. This caused treated investors to (1) assess startups more consistently and (2) assess startup competence more dynamically than control investors. It eliminated, even reversed, the gender gap in investment outcomes. These results have implications for organizations making decisions in uncertain contexts, and those aiming to reduce gender disparities.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099928412042326894/IDU0ab42caf50f6a8048af0b22203c59c8887bef
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10625
dc.identifier.urihttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40693
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Papers; 19625
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectGENDER GAP
dc.subjectENTREPRENEURSHIP
dc.subjectINNOVATION
dc.subjectINVESTMENT IN WOMEN OWNED ENTERPRISE
dc.subjectACCESS TO CREDIT
dc.subjectAFRICA GENDER INNOVATION LAB
dc.titleAsking Better Questionsen
dc.title.subtitleThe Effect of Changing Investment Organizations’ Evaluation Practices on Gender Disparities in Funding Innovationen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleAsking Better Questions: The Effect of Changing Investment Organizations’ Evaluation Practices on Gender Disparities in Funding Innovation
okr.date.disclosure2023-12-04
okr.date.lastmodified2023-12-04T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099928412042326894/IDU0ab42caf50f6a8048af0b22203c59c8887bef
okr.guid099928412042326894
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-ab42caf5-f6a8-48af-b222-3c59c8887bef
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10625
okr.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10625
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34208252
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34208252
okr.identifier.reportWPS10625
okr.import.id2465
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099928412042326894/pdf/IDU0ab42caf50f6a8048af0b22203c59c8887bef.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeAfrica
okr.region.geographicalAfrica
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Access to Finance
okr.topicPrivate Sector Development::Social Entrepreneurship and Business Clusters
okr.topicGender::Gender and Economic Policy
okr.topicGender::Gender and Governance
okr.unitGender Impact Evaluation (AFEGI)
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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