Books
Erin Albert, Single. Women. Entrepreneurs (2011).
Abstract (from Amazon): The number of unmarried adult women actually outnumbers the number or married women for the first time in U. S. history, according to the Population Reference Bureau, in October, 2010. Women are now earning more, going to college and graduate schools more, and finding ways to become more independent. Also, according to the Kauffman Foundation, single, divorced and widowed women start more businesses as entrepreneurs than men in their respective categories. This book interviews 30 single women entrepreneurs throughout the U. S. to discern why they started their original businesses, what the perceived advantages and disadvantages are for the single woman entrepreneur, what each learned from the experience, and what advice they have for the next generation of women solopreneurs.
Eve Blossom, Material Change: Design Thinking and the Social Entrepreneurship Movement (2011).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): Material Change is the story of architect and entrepreneur Eve Blossom, who built her design business, Lulan Artisans, on a framework of ecological, economic and social sustainability. Lulan Artisans is a for-profit social venture that designs, produces and markets contemporary textiles made by Blossom’s collaborators—over 650 weavers, dyers, spinners and finishers in Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Lulan’s mission is ambitious: to preserve artisanal traditions; to give workers an ample wage, benefits and a safe workplace; to bring stability to communities by creating jobs; and to provide economic alternatives to human trafficking. Here, Blossom describes her travels and experiences in bustling cities and remote villages in Vietnam, Cambodia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, as the region was opening its doors to free trade and tourism. The authors walk with her through markets where handmade fabrics are sold, and accompany her on motorbikes to visit rural villages devoted to farming and weaving. They learn how she formed Lulan Artisans, by getting to know the artisans and their designs, processes and heritages. Blossom’s trips to Southeast Asia put her face-to-face with the horrors of the sex trade, galvanizing her commitment to disruptive entrepreneurship. Also featured are stories by other disruptive entrepreneurs who are part of a growing movement to merge design, social compassion, and business: Muna AbuSulayman, Patrick Awuah, Shashin Chokshi, Tali Gottlieb, Joi Ito, Dr. Jordan Kassalow, Shaffi Mather, Tobias Rose-Stockwell, Juliana Rotich and Ricardo Terán. The result is a new, holistic model for the twenty-first century. Eve Blossom is the founder and CEO of Lulan Artisans. An architect by training, Eve lectures worldwide on sustainable integrated design and innovative business methodologies.
Candida G. Brush, WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: A RESEARCH OVERVIEW, inTHE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP (Anuradha Basu et al., eds. 2006).
Abstract: This is a review of research in entrepreneurship, written by an international team of scholars, intended as a reference for academics and policy makers. It may also be a suitable text for graduate level courses.
Candida G. Brush, et al., Perspectives on Women Entrepreneurs: Past Finding and New Directions, in 1 PRAEGER PERSPECTIVES ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP (Maria Minniti, ed. 2006).
Abstract: Volume 1, "People," focuses on the intersection between individuals and entrepreneurship, with an emphasis on the cognitive, economic, social, and institutional factors that influence people's behavior with respect to entrepreneurship.
Candida G. Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart, CLEARING THE HURDLES: WOMEN BUILDING HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES (2008).
Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com): In this book five consultants to women entrepreneurs offer systematic solutions to the challenges that face everyone who wants to start a new business as well as specific guidance for women facing their own set of obstacles. The book draws on five years of original research, performed as part of the Diana Project--a massive initiative seeking to identify and quantify the obstacles to women owned businesses. The authors review both personal and strategic factors associated with funding, growth and ultimate success, including: the founder's goals and expertise; financial resources; networks; goal-setting; management team recruitment; strategy; and more. For each, they thoroughly review the nature and sources of the obstacles, why those obstacles might differ for women; and what can go wrong--or right. They offer practical, concrete strategies and solutions for every obstacle.
Nancy M. Carter, et al., Enhancing Women's Financial Strategies for Entrepreneurial Success, in PROMOTING FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION, TRAINING AND POLICY (Nancy M. Carter, et al., eds. 2006).
Abstract (from publisher): The Irish economy has been consistently outperforming other EU countries in its GDP, GNP, exports and employment rates. However, the recent economic downturn has led to concerns about Ireland’s economic future, and the search for a new “Celtic Tiger” has begun. Recent studies suggest that women’s businesses can make a significant contribution to the economy. Women are now setting up the so-called new economy companies, with success in high-technology, professional services and construction. Women are also starting new businesses faster than their male counterparts, and in the USA today, female entrepreneurs are responsible for 38% of all new businesses. However, in Ireland, this source of new business creation remains virtually untapped. A recent EU study shows that women make up just 15% of Irish entrepreneurs (16% in N. Ireland), the lowest level among the 14 EU countries surveyed. This paper investigates how this source of potential new entrepreneurs in Ireland can be best exploited. The research involves a small comparative study of women-led/founded businesses in both the North and South of Ireland, and determines the particular industry sectors where women are most predominant, as well as the main barriers or deterrent factors affecting women’s decision to start a business. The overall objective of the research is to identify elements that could be developed into a model (in terms of policy and support) for promoting female entrepreneurship on the island of Ireland. A consideration of Ireland’s dual economic nature and the impact of the euro on the promotion of female entrepreneurship will be among other interesting aspects considered in the study.
Minglu Chen, Tiger Girls: Women and Enterprises in the People’s Republic of China (2011).
Abstract: The last three decades of the People's Republic of China has been characterized by decentralization, marketization and privatization. What might be expected from a developing country like China with a significant number of women in the labor force? Do the traditional values of male superiority still stay the same in the background of China's great social change? The notion of 'tiger girls' seems to reflect one of the alternative paths that is now becoming available to the modern Chinese woman. The social development and changes in recent China have provided women with access to education, employment, and independent income. Consequently, they are casting off obedient and subordinate roles and gaining more and more individual power and strength outside the home. Using empirical research findings from three localities in China, Tiger Girls examines the deeper realities of women entrepreneurs in China, and by extension the role of leading women in the workforce.
Victoria Colligan, Beth Schoenfeldt & Amy Swift, LADIES WHO LAUNCH: EMBRACING ENTREPRENEURSHIP & CREATIVITY AS A LIFESTYLE (2007).
Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com): Ladies Who Launch is the first company to define the feminine approach to launching a business and to make the connection between starting a business and bringing creativity into your life with self-esteem and happiness. The nationally acclaimed Ladies Who Launch program has enabled thousands of women across the country to break out of 9-5 and thrive in entrepreneurial enterprises that reflect their true passions, skills, and desires. Located in more than 40 cities in the United States, the Ladies Who Launch incubators – workshops that give women the support and encouragement they need to embark on making their dreams reality – have inspired women to start businesses, grow existing companies, and tap into their creativity to develop essential services and products and enjoy the lifestyle of their dreams while doing it.
THE DIANA PROJECT INTERNATIONAL: RESEARCH ON GROWTH OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS (Candida. G. Brush et al., eds. 2006).
Abstract: Examines the dynamics of women-owned businesses. The Diana Project was established in 1999 to raise awareness and expectations of women business owners regarding the growth of their firms. The group’s research investigates the apparent disconnect between opportunities and resources in equity funding for high growth women-owned businesses.
Sandra L. Fielden & Marilyn J. Davidson, International Research Handbook on Successful Women Entrepreneurs (2011).
Abstract : This Handbook examines successful women small business owners in both developed and emergent countries around the globe and, in particular, focuses on women entrepreneur success stories. The contributors expertly identify the issues that underpin the success of women small business owners around the globe. Each chapter provides country specific review of women's position in employment and small business ownership and addresses the structural and contextual barriers. They also highlight two cases studies about successful women business owners, and consider strategies.
Claire Gaudiani & D. Graham Burnett, Daughters Of The Declaration: How Women Social Entrepreneurs Built the American Dream (2011).
Abstract (from publisher): America's founding fathers established an idealistic framework for a bold experiment in democratic governance. The new nation would be built on the belief that "all men are created equal, and are endowed...with a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The challenge of turning these ideals into reality for all citizens was taken up by a set of exceptional American women. Distinguished scholar and civic leader Claire Gaudiani calls these women "social entrepreneurs," arguing that they brought the same drive and strategic intent to their pursuit of "the greater good" that their male counterparts applied to building the nation's capital markets throughout the nineteenth century. Gaudiani tells the stories of these patriotic women, and their creation of America's unique not-for-profit, or "social profit" sector. She concludes that the idealism and optimism inherent in this work provided an important asset to the increasing prosperity of the nation from its founding to the Second World War. Social entrepreneurs have defined a system of governance "by the people," and they remain our best hope for continued moral leadership in the world.
Ramaswamy Ganesan, PROSPECTS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT: WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING, LOCUS OF CONTROL PERCEPTION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING AND KNOW-HOW, FACTORS AND PROBLEMS (2010).
Product Description (from Amazon): India’s food processing sector is considered as one of the largest sectors in terms of production, consumption, export and growth prospects which also widen the scope for economic development for entrepreneurship potential. Economic growth is highly indispensable for any developing country, which can be substantiated by ensuring participation of women. The government envisaged appropriate measures to empower them economically through entrepreneurship development but despite of all efforts, participation is not considerably high. The reason being individual’s personality traits and characteristics account for entrepreneurial manifestations, which is more so in case of women entrepreneurs running food processing enterprises. This paved the way to understand the potentialities of women entrepreneurs in terms of perceptions, awareness levels, and various factors and problems, which abstain and facilitate their entrepreneurial growth and development. Thus, the present study focused on congregating psychosocial profile of women entrepreneurs in food processing enterprises to provide better picture about women entrepreneurs by and large.
Global Women's Entrepreneurship Research: Diverse Settings, Questions, and Approaches (Karen D. Hughes & Jennifer E. Jennings eds., 2012).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Research responds to recent calls from academic researchers and policy analysts alike to pay greater attention to the diversity and heterogeneity among women entrepreneurs. Drawing together studies by 26 researchers affiliated with the DIANA International Research Network, this collection contributes to a richer and more robust understanding of the field. Part I: ‘Diverse Settings’ introduces research set in a range of contexts, from those rarely examined to those representing more familiar terrains. Part II: ‘Diverse Questions’ explores new questions and reframes old questions in fresh, innovative ways. Part III: ‘Diverse Approaches’ features studies with distinct methodological approaches that reflect and extend the rigour and creativity of research in this field. Together, the research assembled in this volume significantly advances knowledge about women’s entrepreneurship around the world.
Mary Godwyn & Donna Stoddard, Minority Women Entrepreneurs: How Outsider Status Can Lead to Better Business (2011).
Abstract (from Amazon): Minority women start new businesses in the U.S. at four times the rate of non-minority men and women. Though minority women entrepreneurs in the United States are thriving, their stories are very seldom told, and few think of minority women as successful entrepreneurs. Minority Women Entrepreneurs gives voice and visibility to this group of business owners.
The second purpose of this book is to explain what makes these women different from the standard white, male business owners with whom most people are familiar. Through in-depth interviews and firsthand accounts from minority women entrepreneurs, the authors found that minority women use their outsider status to develop socially conscious business practices that support their communities in innovative and exciting ways. They reject the idea that business values are separate from personal values, and instead balance profits with social good and environmental sustainability. This pattern is repeated in statistical evidence from around the globe: women contribute a much higher percentage of their earnings to social good than do men. But, until now, there was no clear explanation of why. Using sociological and psychological theories, the authors explain the tendency for women, especially minority women, to create socially responsible businesses. The findings in this book suggest fresh solutions to economic inequality and humanistic alternatives to exploitative business policies. Herein lays a radically new, socially integrated model that can be used by businesses everywhere.
Daphne Halkias, Paul Thurman, Nicholas Harkiolakis & Sylvia M. Caracatsanis, Female Immigrant Entrepreneurs: The Economic and Social Impact of a Global Phenomenon (2011).
Abstract (from the publisher): Written by the Female Immigrant Entrepreneur [“FIE”] project's team of researchers, this important book begins the process of discovering why and how female driven business start-ups often seem to spontaneously emerge in adverse environments. Is it randomness, luck, or chance that determines success or failure, or vital critical forces and the inherent qualities of the women involved? The research emerging from the FIE project points to answers to questions about the integration of immigrant communities, their interaction with host economic and business environments, and the role of women in that interaction.
With findings from more than fifteen countries, from the USA with some of the world's oldest and largest immigrant communities, to African countries that are the newest destination for Asian migrants, this book will help inform social and economic policy in communities and countries searching for prosperity.
More than that, the book offers policy makers, business leaders, and those concerned with business development the chance to uncover some of the mystery around the complex phenomenon of entrepreneurship itself.
Susan Harmeling & James E. Austin, Women's World Banking: Catalytic Change Through Networks (1999).
Abstract (from publisher): Describes the evolution of Women's World Banking, an international microfinance nonprofit promoting financial access for poor women. Explores the organization's development of different types of networks to achieve its mission.
Jane Hession, WOMEN IN THE MODERN WORKPLACE: GENDER BARRIERS TO BUSINESS START-UPS (2009).
Product Description (from Amazon): The primary focus of this research is to examine the process of venture creation among women in Ireland and the dynamics at play, which affect the nascent female entrepreneur as she embarks on this process. A fundamentally explorative study, this research addresses idea formulation, motivations for business start-up, the start-up process and the challenges or barriers explicit to the nascent female entrepreneur. This study examines three nascent female entrepreneurs who are in the process of business start-up in order to assess the barriers or challenges they have experienced or anticipate to encounter as they embark on this venture. The aim of this study is to propose a theory concerning the challenges and barriers that have the most significant effect on women wishing to enter the new venture forum.
Saud Ilahi, Women Entrepreneurs in India: Socio Economic Constraints (2012),available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2129402.
Abstract (by author): Entrepreneurship is a very important criteria for economic development. The role of women entrepreneurs cannot be ignored in this process. There is a significant contribution of women entrepreneurs in the growth of developed nations. The development of women entrepreneurship is low in India, especially in rural areas. Women entrepreneurs face lots of problems right from the beginning until the enterprise functions. This paper focuses on the status of women entrepreneurs.
Sarah Kitakule & Margaret C. Snyder, Above the Odds: A Decade of Change for Ugandan Women Entrepreneurs (2011).
Abstract (from Amazon): Too few books give an in-depth view of the challenges that African women face in running the enterprises which often provide the main source of support for their families. Ten years ago Women in African Economies: From Burning Sun to Boardroom, based on the lives of 74 women entrepreneurs in Uganda, helped to fill this gap. In her new book, Dr. Margaret Snyder revisits many of these women and, with her co-author Sarah Kitakule, gives a unique account of how they have coped over the past decade with trade liberalization and economic and environmental change; with drought and disease; and with tragedies and triumphs in their households and enterprises. Covering women who belong to both the informal and formal sector, farmers and traders as well as owners of small businesses, and live both in rural and urban areas, the book gives a real feel for how, through thick and through thin, women have been and remain the economic backbone of their communities and country.
Anita Tripathy Lal, Women Entrepreneurs in India - Over the Years! (2012), available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2176377.
Abstract (by author): A recent literature review suggests that, today Indian women entrepreneurs increasingly are a force to be reckoned with. "According to the Women’s Global Entrepreneurship study conducted in US, UK and India, commissioned by Dell (2012), it has been found that the ideal country for a woman starting a business in 2012 could well be India." So the primary objective of the research to study the significant rise of Women Entrepreneurs in India and how it has evolved since the pre-independence days (before 1947), during the British colonial days. The study also analyses the reasons that have prompted the women entrepreneurs to unleash their entrepreneurial energies into start-ups. To meet the objectives of the study both primary and secondary data have been collected. Two different structured questionnaires have been constructed and administered to a sample of women entrepreneurs and both public as well as private support system officials. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analyses the growth of women entrepreneurship in India has been studied in four different periods - Pre-Independence Period (before 1947), Post-Independence Period (after 1947), Post-Liberalization Period (after 1991) and Post -Global Recession period (2008 onwards). The study further strives to correlate the reasons that have prompted the women entrepreneurs to start-up during these different periods. The study finally concludes to what extent the various support systems in India can further foster a conducive ecosystem for the Women Entrepreneurs in India.
T. Lavanya, WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP (2010).
Product Description (from Amazon): India's Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) has recognized for the first time that women are not just equal citizens but are agents of economic and social growth. The approach to gender equity in the Plan is based on the recognition that interventions in favor of women must be multi-dimensional.
Micro Finance and Rural Women Entrepreneurship in India (Suman Kalyan Chaudhury et al. eds., 2012).
Abstract: This book contains a collection of articles touching on various aspects of entrepreneurship as experienced by women in rural India.
Sahar Nasr, EGYPTIAN WOMEN WORKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS: MAXIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ECONOMIC SPHERE (2010).
Product Description (from Amazon): Over the past decade, Egyptian women have made significant progress in improving their economic and social status. The government s commitment to women’s empowerment is strong at the highest political levels. Yet continued disparities remain in the country’s labor market and in the business arena. Egyptian Women Workers and Entrepreneurs analyzes these disparities and makes recommendations for needed change to ensure a level playing field. This book brings together data and extensive evidence on barriers to women’s entry into business in Egypt and makes the case for actions to ensure gender equality. This book is based on a study that the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Manpower and Migration, and the National Council for Women requested to assist in analyzing the factors that influence women’s low participation rate in economic activities, including the labor market and entrepreneurship. Egyptian Women Workers and Entrepreneurs aims to fill the significant research gap on these subjects in Egypt as well as to provide suggestions to address continued gender inequalities.
Vivian Besam Ojong, TRANSNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGH IDENTITY: THE DYNAMICS OF RELIGION AND CULTURE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND REMITTANCE PATTERNS AMONG GHANAIAN WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA (2010).
Product Description (from Amazon): This book situates transnational entrepreneurship through identity in its more comprehensive personal context by tracking cultural transformation and brings to lens how Ghanaian women entrepreneurs negotiate their day-to-day social identities. It highlights their experiences by capturing the various means by which they express their sense of belonging as a product of their transnational activities. The recent explosion of work on transnationalism has demanded increasingly more fine- grained scholarship that unveils the micro- sociological or 'individual' and gendered level of, the at times, ongoing movement between two or more social, cultural, economic et al spaces. The study of entrepreneurship among Ghanaian women in South Africa is a critically nuanced work that explores, through sustained ethnographic contact, the spatialising and enunciation of female category of migrant entrepreneurship within South Africa.
Julia Pimsleur, Million Dollar Women: Raise Capital and Take Your Business Further, Faster (2015).
Abstract (from publisher): This is a useful guide for female entrepreneurs who want to “go big,” which shows you how to turn that creative idea into a million-dollar-plus business. American women are starting businesses at nearly twice the rate that men are, but only three percent of female business owners have revenues of over one million dollars. Most women entrepreneurs are stuck at the “mom and pop” level, just getting by, or in many cases, running out of cash. Julia Pimsleur shares her inspiring story of building her own company and raising millions in capital in a guide for women like her who have a great idea and need to find the resources to take it into the big leagues.
In Million Dollar Women, Pimsleur introduces you to seven women who, instead of “leaning in,” simply left corporate America and “marched in” to the world of entrepreneurship. They have raised capital, developed powerful networks, and generated multimillion-dollar companies from scratch. Million Dollar Women will teach you the concepts, the lexicon, and the steps for taking a business big. It demonstrates how to network, when to delegate, and when to get extra coaching. Above all, it provides help for overcoming the kind of emotional hurdles you have to jump to join the million dollar-plus business owners -- and cheers you on in overcoming every obstacle. With her friendly, pragmatic advice, humor, and an appendix of exercises to take your ideas from theory to practice, Julia Pimsleur’s book is an invaluable reference.
Mehnaz Safavian & Aban Haq, Are Pakistan's Women Entrepreneurs Being Served by the Microfinance Sector? (2013).
Abstract (from authors): Financial services are important for women who are starting and growing a business, but in Pakistan microfinance providers (MFPs) are not reaching Pakistan’s businesswomen. Only 59 percent of microfinance clients are women, yet the majority of these loans are passed on the male members of the household – husbands, fathers, and sons. The practice of passing on loans to male household members is quite widespread; women may be bearing all the transaction costs and risks of accessing loans, but are not the final beneficiaries. Second, a very low proportion of female microfinance clients are entrepreneurs. The report explores why businesswomen in Pakistan may not be using microfinance products to meet their start-up and working capital requirements, in spite of identifying access to finance as a key constraint to their business operations. Against this backdrop, access to finance remains the biggest challenge for a woman who wants to start or grow a business. Yet less than a quarter of the entrepreneurs identified through business development service providers were currently borrowing from microfinance lenders. Even among those entrepreneurs that borrow, dissatisfaction is high. Why? Women borrower-entrepreneurs are not able to access individual loan products, but instead are consistently relegated to group lending. But group loans are very costly for a woman who is running a business, and the loans are too small to fulfill working capital needs. Businesswomen are rarely given the opportunity to access individual loan products, which are usually offered exclusively to male borrowers, and women are not given opportunities to graduate from group loans to individual loans over time. Lending practices often are discriminatory, requiring husbands’ permission, male guarantors, and unmarried women are rarely considered as potential clients. Although MFIs understand that women’s inclusion is integral to the objectives of microfinance, the practice of passing on loans raises serious issues about consumer protection for women clients, and the best and most effective solutions to these challenges could and should come from the sector itself. Designing better products that reach the needs of emerging women entrepreneurs could prove to be good business, achieving double bottom-line objectives. Investing in financial literacy and education of both men and women borrowers can help curb the demand for pass-through loans and help lower risks associated with deceptive practices.
Sue Stockdale, THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS (2010).
Product Description (from Amazon): There are many successful female entrepreneurs in the UK, yet most are not well known. This book shares the inspiring stories of ten successful women with lessons on overcoming challenges, gaining motivation and turning your dreams into reality. By following the author’s Seven Steps to Success you’ll be able to put what you learn to practical use. The women entrepreneurs featured include: Linda Bennett Founder of LK Bennett; Josephine Carpenter, Founder of The Big JT; Julie Meyer, Founder of First Tuesday and Ariadne Capital; Michelle Mone, designer of the UltimoT Bra; Dr Marilyn Orcharton, creator of Denplan; Geetie Singh, creator of the world’s first organic gastro pub; Dr Glenda Stone, Founder of Aurora Gender Capital Management (formerly Busy Girl); Penny Streeter, Founder of Ambition 24 hours; Helen Swaby, Founder of DeMontfort Fine Art; Yvonne Thompson CBE, Founder of the first known black-owned and run PR agency in the UK. Sue Stockdale is a motivational speaker, successful businesswoman and record-breaking explorer. She is passionate about women’s enterprise and on the Board of several organizations related to business start-up. Sue was the first British Woman to walk to the Magnetic North Pole in 1996 and has represented Scotland in athletics. She also finished runner-up in the Channel 4 show Superhuman. Sue holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Business Venturing.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CLASSICS AND NEW DIRECTIONS (Candida G. Brush, et al., eds. 2006).
Abstract: The Diana Project was founded in 1999 to explore the supply of and demand for growth capital relative to women entrepreneurs in the United States. The Diana Project findings have prompted great interest from policy makers, practitioners, and educators wanting to learn more about ways to increase women entrepreneurs’ receipt of growth capital by providing a better infrastructure of programs and curricula for women who wish to grow businesses.
Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economics: New Perspectives, Practices, and Policies (Miguel Angel Galindo Martín & Domingo Ribeiro eds., 2012).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): This volume features research from an international array of authors, global data, and in-depth analysis of women’s entrepreneurial activity in Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Canada, to shed light on the positive impact of women’s entrepreneurship on economic growth and development. The first part covers a broad range of concepts relating to the history and context of the female economic perspective. The second part focuses on performance and success factors, with respect to such issues as innovation, social needs, and entrepreneurial orientation. The third part addresses issues of financing, including discussion of access to capital, microcredit, and entrepreneurial behavior. The fourth part considers additional topics, such as work-family balance and access to education. Together, the chapters offer new perspectives on the unique characteristics of women entrepreneurs and their contributions to economic development in theory, practice, and policymaking.
Women Entrepreneurs and Socio-Economic Development: Essays in Honour of Prof. K.S. Chalam (K. S. Chalam & D. Pulla Rao, eds., 2011).
Abstract: This is a collection of papers presented at the National Seminar on "Human Development and Social Exclusion", held at Vishakhapatnam in October 2008.
Glenice J. Wood et al., Minorities in Entrepreneurship: An International Review (2012).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): Although there is an expanding body of literature on the characteristics, aspirations, motivations, challenges and barriers of mainstream entrepreneurs, relatively little is known about whether these findings can be applied to the entrepreneurial activities of minority groups. This book addresses this short-fall and presents an international review of the characteristics, motivations and obstacles of eight minority groups: younger; older; women; ethnic; immigrant; lesbian, gay and bisexual; disabled; and indigenous entrepreneurs. The expert contributors discover enormous variability between these minority groups, such as in the motivators that either ‘pushed’ or ‘pulled’ individuals into an entrepreneurial venture, as well as diverse attitudes toward ‘success’: some groups wanted to achieve financial security – others wanted to enhance their sense of self-worth, or to change existing social and economic circumstances. However, some striking similarities were noted: initial disadvantage often created a powerful impetus to starting up a business venture, and accessing finance was extremely difficult for many. Including comparative cross cultural data and case studies on the various minority groups reviewed, both post graduate students and undergraduate students studying entrepreneurship will find this book an invaluable resource.