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Do Women Engage Differently in Entrepreneurship?

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The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Assumptions of homogeneity about women entrepreneurs and grouping them together mask differences from the intersections of other minority group membership, including but not limited to race and ethnicity. This chapter addresses the question, ‘do women engage differently in entrepreneurship?’ The chapter presents a framework for the entrepreneurial process, then explores the narratives that highlight differences between men and women entrepreneurs, both those evident in stereotypes and those that represent reality. The chapter concludes that it is important to recognise differences between men and women and among groups of women, to understand what they are and how differences might contribute to a better entrepreneurial model for all. Suggestions and implications for practice, training, education, policy and research are included.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    SBO, ‛Women’s Business Ownership: Data from the 2012 Survey of Business Owners,’ 2017. www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/Womens-Business-Ownership-in-the-US.pdf.

  2. 2.

    Lexico. US Dictionary. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/minority. Accessed May 11, 2020.

  3. 3.

    Babson College definition of entrepreneurship.

  4. 4.

    In 2019, 2300 US companies received more than $34 billion in funding. If there are more than 30 million businesses in the US, this amounts to less than.0001% of all businesses. https://nvca.org/research/ Every year there are nearly 2 million businesses created in the US and 600–800 receive venture capital. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital.

  5. 5.

    https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300.

  6. 6.

    https://www.taylorcustomrings.com/; https://rothys.com/womens.

  7. 7.

    https://www.portfolia.co/.

  8. 8.

    https://goldenseeds.com/.

  9. 9.

    http://pipelineangels.com/.

  10. 10.

    http://www.37angels.com/.

  11. 11.

    https://www.babson.edu/academics/centers-and-institutes/center-for-womens-entrepreneurial-leadership/programs-and-events/win-lab/.

  12. 12.

    https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/.

  13. 13.

    The 14th annual conference was held at Babson College, Wellesley, Mass. in June 2019.

  14. 14.

    Attendees at the 2003 Diana International initial conferences included Claire Leitch, Eva Pinter, Isabel Welpe, Cristina Diaz Garcia, Friederike Welter, John Watson, Kate Johnston, Anne de Bruin, Pia Arenius, Mary Barrett, Elisabet Ljunggren, Myra Hart, Candida Brush, Bang Jee Chun, Eleanor Shaw, Colette Henry, Helle Neergaard, Patricia Greene, Magnus Aronsson and Elizabeth Gatewood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Babson College, Wellesley, USA

    Candida G. Brush & Patricia G. Greene

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  1. Candida G. Brush
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  2. Patricia G. Greene
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Correspondence to Candida G. Brush .

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  1. Dublin, Ireland

    Thomas M. Cooney

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Brush, C.G., Greene, P.G. (2021). Do Women Engage Differently in Entrepreneurship?. In: Cooney, T.M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Entrepreneurship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66603-3_7

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