Is innovation too masculine? Uncovering the hidden gender gap

What if the innovation economy has always had a gender problem—and we just couldn't see it? Despite a wave of visibility for women entrepreneurs, the numbers are stark: 90% of inventors in Canada are male, and women-led ventures receive less than 5% of available funding. In this episode, UBC Sauder School of Business assistant professor Angèle Beausoleil (PhD'17)—a researcher, serial entrepreneur, and self-described "pracademic"—unpacks why innovation culture skews masculine, what groupthink costs organizations that ignore it, and why the traits society calls "feminine" might actually be the entrepreneurial superpowers we've been undervaluing all along.Links for this episodeTranscriptContact CarolContact JeevanFrom Here ForwardPodium Podcast CompanyContact Dr. Angele BeausoleilLearn more about Dr. Beausoleil's researchJeevan & Carol’s Fave Canadian Businesses | Blume Skincare | Dexy Paws | Stranger Tails (00:00) - Introduction (01:56) - Meet Dr. Angele Beausoleil (04:24) - Is innovation “too masculine” & what does that mean? (06:51) - The numbers: inventors, founders, and venture funding (07:49) - The history: the “heroic innovator” and gendered norms (12:56) - The risk of ignoring bias (15:41) - Examples of women-led innovation (19:08) - How to begin to create change in innovation (21:44) - The Innovation Self-Assessment Study (26:48) - What needs to change (education, language, policies) (29:09) - Conclusion