Tiantian Yang, Management, The Wharton School
Abstract: Female-led ventures in female-focused industries (e.g., FemTech) face a unique tension between authenticity and perceived legitimacy in the eyes of potential employees. While identity-based lived experience can signal market insight and mission alignment, it may also conflict with gendered norms about who leads high-growth ventures. This project explores how leadership composition and narrative framing jointly affect applicant interest in these ventures. Scoping activities use a two-stage experimental design in which we will pilot and refine treatments in lower-cost online settings to prepare for a future RCT involving real hiring for a female-focused venture. These pilot studies will help assess treatment realism, estimate effect sizes, and identify individual-level covariates linked to mechanisms such as anticipated stigma or norm violation sensitivity. Findings will inform how underrepresented founders can optimize hiring strategies without compromising authenticity and provide insights for investors, accelerators, and policymakers seeking to support inclusive innovation in gendered or marginalized markets.