| Abstract | Gender biases and business is a hot topic in today's society as women are still fighting for equality. The growing media phenomenon of reality television also demonstrates the challenges with representing gender. Throughout the decades, females have been portrayed unfairly in reality television with harmful gender stereotypes or through focus on their physical characteristics, sexual appeal, and romantic success. The purpose of this research is to examine if these biases, stereotypes, and differences in portrayal exist in business reality television shows. For my research project, I have examined gender biases in entrepreneurship focused reality television through a content analysis of Shark Tank. Results of this content analysis found that teams including either a female entrepreneur or child entrepreneur were more successful in getting a deal. Findings also indicated that teams that used emotional appeal received more offers and deals than teams that did not. Despite past research indicating differences in how women are portrayed on reality television, this content analysis did not reveal any biases against female contestants or any negative stereotypes. |
