goWo*Man

Entre­pre­neu­rial compe­ten­cies include crea­ti­vity, willing­ness and ability to learn, intrinsic moti­va­tion, goal-oriented action, willing­ness to take risks, ability to inno­vate, convic­tion of self-effi­cacy, sense of respon­si­bi­lity and also the ability to learn from one’s own experiences.

Male and female students possess diffe­rent weightings of these compe­ten­cies according to their perso­na­li­ties, but are confronted with diffe­rent role models throughout their lives. A frequently displayed role model of the start-up founder as a male hero who is strong-willed and asser­tive in with­stan­ding even diffi­cult working condi­tions. This role model is seen in the lite­ra­ture as coun­ter­pro­duc­tive and alie­na­ting (not only for women), because this image ignores collec­tive and team-based aspects that accom­pany start-ups. Recent studies show that the majo­rity of successful compa­nies were founded by hete­ro­ge­neous teams and mixed-gender teams are more successful.

With over 50% of female students at HfG, addres­sing the target group adequa­tely plays a crucial role. The stereo­types anchored in cultural memory are ideally left behind with the goWo*Man initia­tive. Stories of mixed foun­ding teams and female heroines are deli­ber­ately put in the spot­light, as inspi­ra­tion and encou­ra­ge­ment for origi­na­lity.

Once a team is founded, its success and persis­tence stand or fall with the trust team members have in each other. There­fore, the goHfG team offers foun­ding teams the oppor­tu­nity to conduct team buil­ding in order to get to know their own strengths and areas of deve­lo­p­ment as well as those of the team members better. Students can thus more clearly reco­gnize their own contri­bu­tion to the overall perfor­mance in the team and increase their own self-leadership and stee­ring ability of the team. This offer applies to all foun­ding teams. For hete­ro­ge­neous teams, however, it is appro­priate to go further, such as an intro­duc­tion to gender-specific language and related beha­viors. Men may not under­stand the perspec­tives of their female team­mates and vice versa. In this case, commu­ni­ca­tion work­shops are a good way to get to know and appre­ciate foreign and unfa­mi­liar approa­ches as well as other frames of reference.