Shadows and spotlights: A postfeminist analysis of women innovators’ experiences with (in)visibility

Contrary to the notion that innovation is a universally accessible and meritocratic endeavor, concerns persist over not only women innovators’ numerical underrepresentation but also their (in)visibility. Studying innovation as a social context structured by power, we focus on 18 women innovators in innovation-driving environments. While these women appear to symbolize gender equality and embody contemporary postfeminist ideals of individualism, choice, and empowerment, many have simultaneously experienced (in)visibility and navigated unequal power structures throughout their careers. We investigate how these (in)visibility experiences are reconciled with the promises of postfeminism, exploring how postfeminist ideals are interpreted and negotiated by them to make sense of their own (in)visibility. While (in)visibility has traditionally been theorized in relation to norms and gendered power structures, our findings reveal how postfeminist discourses reframe visibility as an individualized, moralized imperative rooted in self-responsibility. Through this lens, we identify four postfeminist sense-making approaches: meritocratic visibility (embodying postfeminist ideologies), retraditionalized visibility (conforming to femininity), self-disciplined visibility (adapting to gender inequality), and collective-oriented visibility (challenging the status quo). These sense-making approaches highlight the various ways in which postfeminist sensibilities shape subjective experiences, often masking structural inequalities and allowing these to persist in contexts that claim to promote equal opportunities, such as the innovation environment. We point to the need for collective rather than individualized action for structural transformation.