The Whole Story about Women Entrepreneurs

Dec. 2, 2009 - PRLog -- Dallas (SMU) – New research takes stock of what has been learned so far about female entrepreneurship, and what more needs to be done. Maria Minniti, holder of the Bobby B. Lyle Chair in Entrepreneurship at SMU’s Cox School of Business, shows that studying women entrepreneurs sheds light on entrepreneurship and wealth creation, employment choices, human capital, labor market dynamics, family dynamics and employment, business creation and peace, to name a few. We know that women’s businesses tend to be smaller and to grow less than those owned by men. But do those tendencies really convey the nuances inherent in female entrepreneurship and its full impact across the globe?

A few highlights about women and entrepreneurship include the following:

• Women are involved in entrepreneurial activities out of two primary reasons — opportunity and necessity.

• Countries which have healthy and diversified labor markets or stronger safety nets show a more favorable ratio of opportunity to necessity-driven women entrepreneurs.

• Only recently has the link between peace and female entrepreneurship been appreciated; it could represent a very significant source of stability in some of the most unstable areas of the globe.

• On average, women seem less networked than men and, in some cultures, have access to fewer social resources.

• Minniti notes that "women are very strong at negotiating, achieving goal-congruence, and consensus-forming.”

• Self-satisfaction is more important to women that financial profitability and growth; and of course, family considerations are very important in women's jump to self-employment.

• How institutions promote or discourage female entrepreneurship should be studied for its policy implications.

The paper “Gender Issues in Entrepreneurship” by Dr. Minniti is forthcoming in Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship. The full paper is available upon request.

About SMU Cox
SMU’s Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education programs, including BBA, full-time MBA, Professional MBA (PMBA), Executive MBA (EMBA), Master of Science in Management (MSM), and Executive Education. The school also offers a number of unique resources and activities for students, ranging from its Business Leadership Center (BLC), Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship, Maguire Energy Institute, and American Airlines Global Leadership Program (AAGLP) to its Associate Board Executive Mentoring Program and an international alumni network with chapters in more than 20 countries. SMU Cox is ranked among the top business schools nationally and internationally by major publications, including BusinessWeek, The Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report.