Saskia Stoker

Saskia Stoker serves as a Lecturer and Researcher in Entrepreneurship at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences' Faculty of Business and Economics, actively challenging the "think entrepreneur–think male" paradigm through research and teaching. Her work examines systemic gender barriers in entrepreneurial ecosystems and promotes inclusive educational practices.

Her research focuses on women entrepreneurs' experiences within entrepreneurial ecosystems, analyzing how gender norms intersect with contextual embeddedness to create inequality mechanisms. She investigates the dual nature of women-only business networks, explores entrepreneurship education reform, and develops frameworks for gender-inclusive curricula. Her methodology combines qualitative analysis of embeddedness factors with quantitative assessment of educational interventions.

Recent publications (2022-2024) demonstrate consistent thematic focus on gender dynamics in entrepreneurship, revealing patterns where contextual constraints disproportionately limit women's opportunity recognition. Her work increasingly incorporates intersectional analysis while maintaining practical applications for educational reform and ecosystem development.

Dr. Stoker's contributions to gender equality have earned significant recognition:

• HvA’ers van het Jaar 2021 (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences' Staff Member of the Year)
• Inclusive30 van 2023 (Top 30 Dutch diversity and inclusion practitioners)
• Nominatie Joke Smit Award 2021 (National emancipation award nomination, third place)

She actively supervises master's students from VU Amsterdam and HvA on topics including economic transformation, policy development, and organizational communication, with recent projects examining incubator dynamics and inclusivity frameworks. Her educational leadership extends to conference organization including the 3E PDW on Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (2023) and the Entrepreneurship Education Excellence conference (2022).

• Master's thesis supervision in entrepreneurship and policy
• Development of gender-inclusive entrepreneurship curricula
• Academic conference organization on ecosystem inclusivity

Dr. Stoker collaborates extensively with researchers across Dutch institutions including VU Amsterdam, forming interdisciplinary networks focused on gender-inclusive entrepreneurship. Her current projects examine regional gender disparities in the Netherlands while developing practical tools for educational institutions to implement structural inclusivity measures.