Opening doors for women entrepreneurs online

When digital platforms promise openness and opportunity, do they deliver equally for everyone? That question drives a new interdisciplinary research project led by Sumin Song of the John Molson School of Business and Fanny Macé of the Département d’études françaises.

As recipients of the Barry F. Lorenzetti Targeted Research Grant, they examine how women digital entrepreneurs build visibility, credibility and growth on platforms such as YouTube across French-speaking communities.

Their research shifts attention beyond the predominantly English-language focus of much existing scholarship, offering new insight into francophone contexts and entrepreneurial experiences.

“Grants like this are important because they support research that may not fall within dominant or mainstream themes,” says Song, an assistant professor of supply chain and business technology management. “They create space for interdisciplinary collaboration, mixed- or multi-method approaches and socially relevant topics.”

Song studies how digital platforms are shaped by algorithms, engagement metrics and user-feedback systems that determine who is seen, heard and rewarded — and how that shapes innovation and opportunity.

Macé, a specialist in critical sociolinguistics, explores how language influences identity, legitimacy and power. Together, they are investigating how culture, language and platform design intersect — and how women strategically adapt to succeed in digital environments.

The Lorenzetti grant was established through a major gift to Concordia that also created the Barry F. Lorenzetti Centre for Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership.

“Research grants are essential because they allow ideas to become operational,” said Song. “The Lorenzetti grant has enabled us to hire and train research assistants, construct and validate our dataset, conduct systematic analysis and present our work at conferences to receive feedback.”

Moving the project into its second phase, Song and Macé look forward to eventually submitting a full journal manuscript and sharing their insights beyond academia.

By enabling interdisciplinary collaboration, the Lorenzetti grant is helping generate new conversations about digital platforms, diversity and inclusion — and paving the way for a more inclusive future for digital entrepreneurship.