When pitching startups, men and women tend to have very different experiences in being evaluated for funding. Consider these questions that a venture capital investor might pose to aspiring business owners:
To a male entrepreneur: "Tell us about your vision for this venture." To a female entrepreneur: "Tell us about your track record for this type of venture."
Research shows that men are more likely to receive promotion-focused (risk-loving) questions from investors; for women, prevention-focused (risk-averse) inquiries are the norm. Investors also tend to disfavor stereotypically female behaviors, such as being soft-spoken and nurturing (versus bold and assertive), whether those behaviors are exhibited by men or women. But even when ventures are pitched in the same way, investors significantly prefer pitches made by men over those made by women.