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Gendered Metaphor as a Persuasive Tool in Venture Capital Pitches

Biwei Pan et al.

Business and Professional Communication Quarterly2026https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906251408377article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

This study examines how metaphor and gender interact in venture capital pitches. We analyzed 60 pitches from a global competition, comparing metaphor usage between male and female winners and non-winners. Results show distinct metaphor preferences: male entrepreneurs used more BUILDING metaphors, while female entrepreneurs used more WAR and PLANT metaphors. The association between WAR metaphors and female winners suggests strategic metaphorical framing interacts with gender to impact persuasion. These findings reveal that gender norms influence decision making, and entrepreneurs can leverage metaphor to construct persuasive advantages, providing strategic and pedagogical direction for refining their figurative language in practice and training.

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Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906251408377

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{biwei2026,
  title        = {{Gendered Metaphor as a Persuasive Tool in Venture Capital Pitches}},
  author       = {Biwei Pan et al.},
  journal      = {Business and Professional Communication Quarterly},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906251408377},
}

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Gendered Metaphor as a Persuasive Tool in Venture Capital Pitches

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.