Through the lens of equality, "The Lion's Den" itself could benefit from some product development

Article published in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on April 22, 2024.
Written by: Sebrina Stensgaard and Hilda Rømer Christensen

Read comment by Danish Broadcasting Programme Director, Anne Garlichs

The Lion's Den" – the well-known business reality program – has in recent years become a staple of the TV repertoire and a common reference point for many Danes. Since the start of the program, the viewer numbers have been high, with over 500,000 viewers per week, reaching up to 900,000 in the initial programs of the 2023 season, thus aligning with "X Factor" and "Dancing with the Stars

In addition to entertaining, "The Lion's Den" lifts the veil on the mechanisms of innovation and the entrepreneurial landscape – and the hard and ruthless path to the goal of creating product development and profit.

Studies have shown that the program helps many entrepreneurs along the way by, among other things, increasing the visibility and revenue of the pitched brands. "The Lion's Den" also seems to benefit the program's investors, who have made money on their investments, just as some have been able to leverage their participation in the program to political top positions. So what is the actual problem? The concept's focus on entrepreneurship and innovation even aligns with the tones being sounded by governments and private companies around the world in recent years. Here, the mantra is that innovation and entrepreneurship are what will drive growth and welfare forward while also helping to solve large and small societal problems.

But there is a big but, which the program both helps to expose and perhaps also intensify: Namely that the field of innovation is characterized by large inequalities between genders and also in other sociocultural areas such as ethnicity and age.

In terms of equality, the numbers speak loud and clear: According to the latest survey from Danish Business, just 27% of entrepreneurs in Denmark are women, and the growth in new female entrepreneurs is both low and below the OECD average. Moreover, startups led by women account for a vanishingly small part of the total investments. Thus, only 0.1% of investments in Denmark go to female entrepreneurs, while 10.8% go to entrepreneurs of both genders. The rest – that is, about 88% – goes to male entrepreneurs.

Therefore, it makes sense to ask whether a program like "The Lion's Den," broadcast on a major public service channel, contributes to creating change or to conserving this skewed landscape?

We have investigated the narratives and visual representations that have characterized the program from the start in 2015 through 2023, through a systematic analysis of every other season in the eight-year period. That is, seasons two, four, six, and eight, which in total consist of 33 episodes and a total of 145 pitchers presenting new products and services.

Overall, the success rate in "The Lion's Den" reflects the gendered landscape within the sector. Men constitute a firm and significantly large proportion of the successful narratives in the program, while the representation of female entrepreneurs is significantly smaller, and their success curve more fluctuating.

This can be seen in the statistics, where male pitch participants in the four examined seasons constitute 58% with a stable success rate of 45-50% measured by whether they get an investment. In comparison, female entrepreneurs make up just 21% of the participants with large fluctuations in success rates. For example, no women received an investment in season four (2019), while a full 60% of women were successful in season eight (2023).

Also, when it comes to investment levels, there is a difference between genders. Although there have been more successful women in the show, their own valuations have only been met in one case. Among the male pitchers, almost one in four (24%) have had the proposed valuation met, and in one case the valuation has even been increased by the lions (Bubbles in season eight, episode five).

A look at the gendered patterns and stereotypes played out in the program also shows a significant focus on women having to break barriers just to be part of the entrepreneurial environment. For example, in season eight in 2023, where there are several episodes where some of the male lions appear clearly irritated that female lions are offensive and position themselves as willing investors with statements like: "Just listen here. You've just sat down, young woman. And you're already chosen before me. It's going to be a long season this one." (season eight, episode one). Another example is found in the stories about successful female entrepreneurs. In all cases, the program highlights their gender, and they are attributed qualities such as "fighter" and "kick-ass." The participating men pass as the norm, whose gender does not need comments.

Conversely, the male lions' internal lad culture, their teasing of each other – and for some, also personal relationships – have been an ongoing part of the program's entertaining jargon: Their actions express that they feel at home in relation to the specific values and mutual expectations that form the basis for the program's entrepreneurial culture.

When it comes to the male actors, the program shows both tradition and renewal: The traditional male entrepreneur, who can be hardworking, aggressive, and a "border guard," is challenged by a new type of entrepreneur, the technology nerd, who is often portrayed through hero images like Elon Musk or the movie character Tony Stark. Compared to previous seasons, technology has also moved forward in the program's profile. It reflects a trend that can also be found in statistics and research, where IT and technology are seen as leading investment sectors. In the 2023 season of "The Lion's Den," technology accounts for 30% of all investments, though it is only men under 39 who appear in this category.

Overall, the analysis of "The Lion's Den" highlights some clear gender and diversity barriers within entrepreneurship. This applies both in terms of the skew in the representation of entrepreneurs, but also through the series' success stories, which are often characterized by gendered stereotypes centered around the nerdy technology hero or the strong woman, who must fight against all odds.

In this way, programs like "The Lion's Den" not only play a role in portraying the surrounding society. The program has also in its eight seasons contributed to creating and conveying specific narratives about the culture of entrepreneurship. But as Minister of Business Affairs Morten Bødskov recently stated to TV 2, there is a need to look at precisely this culture if we are to address skewed gender numbers and patterns.

In other words, there is a need for more stories about ways to succeed and broader representation, if entrepreneurship is to appear as an attractive option for more people. In the end, it benefits the entire society. Research has shown that diversity generally contributes to the development of better products and services – while also increasing revenue.

Maybe "The Lion's Den" could itself benefit from a bit of innovation and product development on this point?

Emner