In this seminar, Amanda Baum, a PhD student and research associate at the working group for data-driven innovation at Hamburg University of Technology presented her ongoing research on female technology (femtech) organizations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. With a qualitative research approach, she and her co-authors attempt to explore which tensions femtech entrepreneurs face and how they deal with respective tensions. The driving research questions in her research are: which tensions do femtech founders experience in addressing the grand challenge of inequality in women's health? How do they navigate these tensions? The research of Amanda and her co-authors is motivated by three main practical gaps identified: 1) the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials, 2) the lack of funding in women's health research and 3) the resulting phenomenon of the “gender data gap" in healthcare.

The results of her study originate from a combination of primary data (semi-structured interviews) and secondary data (companies’ social media posts and observation). Their preliminary study results can be summarized as follows: 1) The grand challenge of inequality in women´s health implies knotted paradoxes at three levels – system, field and founder – which perpetuate across levels through the patterned behavior of stakeholders and founders. 2) Founders reproduce existing inequalities themselves as part of their organizational activities. 3) Reducing the tilt at windmills that they face, founders navigate the tensions between levels by concentrating on the perpetuating factors that further reinforce existing inequalities.

Amanda and her co-authors aim to achieve impact on both a theoretical and a practical level. First, they intent to contribute to organizational theory on knotted paradoxes in the context of the interconnected grand challenges of good health and well-being (SDG3), and gender equality (SDG5). Secondly, systemic challenges imply complex dynamics and unveil numerous (knotted) paradoxes across various levels. With their research, the team aims to support founders and innovative organizations to successfully navigate respective complex environments.