Hidden from view? Examining government policy support with sexual and gender minority entrepreneurs

Purpose Our paper offers a critical consideration of how gender, sex and sexuality binaries underpin the neoliberal obsession with entrepreneurial success. While there is an emerging empirical interest in minority and marginalised entrepreneurs, we argue that this has yet to appropriately theorise how gender, sex and sexuality binaries might be implicated. Design/methodology/approach Our research adopts a qualitative approach combining secondary and primary data analyses. We offer a reflexive thematic analysis exploring 17 selected UK government policies where business and gender were discussed. This is supported by policy discussions in interviews with 18 sexual and gender minority entrepreneurs. Findings Our findings contribute to discussions of diversity within entrepreneurship beyond a straightforward binary view of in/visibility and suggest how the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities has unintended consequences. Originality/value We contribute by identifying how entrepreneurial policies form cis and heteronormative mechanisms reproducing exclusionary narratives despite their inclusionary intention. Our empirical analysis of both government policy and participant data demonstrates how policies are shaped by a logic of appropriateness that renders sexual and gender minority entrepreneurs invisible. Moreover, our participants comprise entrepreneurs who identify beyond gender, sex and sexuality binaries extending current empirical contributions that focus predominantly on cisgender lesbian and/or gay entrepreneurial experiences.