03 March, 2025

Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence is proud to share news of a newly published book chapter by researchers Dr. Sarah Davis and Dr. Ana Cruz García, titled “Blame Narratives: Contesting Gender Neutrality in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.”

The chapter features in the recent publication Gendering Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Levelling the Field and explores how women entrepreneurs interpret and navigate gender-based constraints within ecosystems often perceived as gender-neutral. Through in-depth analysis, the chapter sheds light on the narratives of blame—whether internal, external, or a combination—that women develop as they engage with their entrepreneurial environments. It also highlights key strategies they adopt to move forward, including the formation of women-only alliances.

The entire book is available here.

The research draws on Irish case data collected as part of the WeRin Project, an Erasmus+ initiative aimed at fostering more inclusive regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. The Hincks Centre is a proud contributor to this project, which continues to bring critical insights into the experiences of women innovators across Europe.

We extend our sincere thanks to Katie Power and Dr. Helen McGuirk for their ongoing support of this research, and to Sarah Davis and Leesa McGrath-Feeney of the Rubicon Centre for their professionalism in conducting the interviews. We are also grateful to George Bulman, also at the Rubicon Centre for facilitating access to participants and contributing valuable insights throughout the research process.

This work marks another important step in our mission to deepen understanding and promote inclusivity in entrepreneurship.

Dr. Ana Cruz García

Academic Researcher,

Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence