Når performativitet bliver altafgørende: "et iværksætterland i verdensklasse"

Jørgensen, Cecilie Liv Lange

4. semester

Læring og Forandringsprocesser, Kandidat

2025

2025-05-29

77 pages

n this thesis I explore how female entrepreneurs and investors experience the Danish venture capital field, which is characterized by persistent gender imbalance. While statistical reports and policy initiatives have brought attention to structural inequalities in the field, this study seeks to uncover how these inequalities are experienced by those directly involved. Based on ten qualitative interviews, this paper analyzes how women position themselves and make sense of their experiences in a field marked by normative expectations and established ideals. Anchored in a social constructivist framework, the analysis draws on Berger and Luckmanns’ sociology of knowledge (2004) to examine how social norms are produced, objectified and internalized, and how these come to shape the everyday realities of women in the field. In addition, I apply Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity (1988) and Sara Ahmed’s concept of the feminist killjoy (2010) to examine how these experiences in the field are shaped by gendered ideals and affective expectations. Through a thematic and iterative analysis, three recurring patterns are identified: (1) the perception of venture capital as a male-dominated game, (2) the centrality of performance and the need to embody legitimacy through gendered behavioral codes, and (3) a tendency among some informants to distance themselves from critique of the field. The analysis shows how performative alignment with specific expectations becomes a necessity for navigating the gendered asymmetries of the field. However, this alignment can also contribute to the reinforcement of existing norms and the silencing of critical perspectives. In this way, the findings suggest that women experience a need to continuously perform within a gendered and normative framework. These findings have implications for how inclusion is understood in practice, suggesting that increased representation alone does not necessarily lead to actual transformation of the field. If doing one's gender and performing a role in line with the field’s expectations simultaneously reinforces a narrow norm for how a legitimate actor should appear, what then are the possibilities for change? This question positions the thesis as a contribution to ongoing discussions about legitimacy, gender, and access to capital, and calls for further research into how performative norms shape women’s opportunities and constraints.

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