Allyship, where advantaged individuals support those from disadvantaged groups, plays a critical role in fostering inclusion. Considering that males typically form the advantaged group in entrepreneurial pursuits, we conduct two studies to advance academic understanding of whether and how allyship can help counter sexism and foster equity for female entrepreneurs. Building on qualitative interviews with 35 female entrepreneurs, Study 1 reveals four categories of effective allyship: boosting self-belief, encouraging entrepreneurial engagement, showing gender sensitivity, and removing barriers through confrontation. Interestingly, confrontational allyship emerged as impactful yet polarizing: moreover, its potential benefits seem to depend on the way how it is enacted. Building on these preliminary findings, Study 2 used an experimental design with 441 participants to test how female entrepreneurs value different types of confrontational allyship behavior (collaborative vs. advocative vs. no help). Observing that women prefer both collaborative and advocative help over no help when facing sexism, our work introduces the transformative potential of male allyship in entrepreneurship and highlights different ways in which men’s involvement as allies can contribute.
