Womens Experiences of Micro-Enterprise: Contexts and Meanings

SEX ROLES
Volume 61, Numbers 7-8

(2009), 566-579, DOI: 10.1007/s11199-009-9642-4

Abstract
The article confronts global claims of micro-enterprise to promote poverty reduction and gender
equality. The article examines 60 in-depth interviews with low-income Palestinian and Israeli
Jewish women (aged 2545 years) who engaged in micro-enterprises. The research particularly
focused on womens motivations, personal qualities required for success, systemic barriers and
opportunities, and womens constructions of micro-enterprise as a means to overcome poverty and
achieve gender equality. The article indicates that in the frame of gender and economic exclusionary
context, without comprehensive institutional support, micro-enterprise and self employment may not
promise more than a partial solution to poverty and gender discrimination. The article questions the
tendency to globalize policies without taking into account the local contexts in which these policies
are implemented.

Keywords Micro-enterprise - Gender - Poverty - Anti-poverty

programs - Diversity - Israel - Palestine

Women on corporate boards: key influencers or tokens?

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

2010, DOI: 10.1007/s10997-010-9165-y

Abstract
This paper investigates how the increasing ratio of women directors on corporate boards is associated
with decision-making dynamics, specifically the perceived participation and influence of the women
on the board. We test hypotheses using a sample of 458 women on Norwegian corporate boards
where the ratio of women directors among board members ranges from 11 to 100%. Overall, we find
that women perceive that they have a high level of information sharing, a low level of selfcensorship, and a high level of influence across the different ratios of board membership held by
women directors. These results support the notion of women directors as significant influencers.
However, the results also show that women directors perceive that they do receive more information
and engage in more informal social interaction when the ratio increases, and perceived influence
does also increase when the ratio increases.

Keywords Corporate governance - Women on corporate boards - Gender

diversity - Tokenism - Board dynamics

Woman Entrepreneurship and Gender Accountability

Marta Peris-Ortiz, Daniel Palacios-Marqus

and Carlos Rueda-Armengot

WOMENS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMICS

International Studies in Entrepreneurship,
9_12

2012, Volume 1000, Part 4, 181-189, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-1293-

Abstract
The controversial issue examined here, about woman entrepreneurship and gender accountability , is
whether society should provide the means for reconciling work and family life so that women can
make their business activity compatible with their family obligations (Konrad and Mangel, Strateg
Manage R 21, 12251237, 2000; Konrad, Handbook on women in business and management. Edward
Elgar, Northampton, MA, 2007; Eagly and Johannesen-Schmidt, Handbook on women in business and
management. Edward Elgar, Northampton, MA, 2007), or whether a more profound, far-reaching

transformation is required, changing current male success models in the Western world so that men
and women can share their child-care and general domestic obligations (Cals et al., Handbook on
women in business and management. Edward Elgar, Northampton, MA, 2007; Acad Manage Rev, 34, 3,
552569, 2009). The conclusions about these two ways are that a balance is needed: changing the
forms of female work and transforming the society in a more deep sense.

Diana: a symbol of women entrepreneurs hunt for knowledge, money, and

the rewards of entrepreneurship
Elizabeth J. Gatewood, Candida G. Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Patricia G. Greene and Myra M. Hart

SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMICS

Volume 32, Number 2

(2009), 129-144, DOI: 10.1007/s11187-008-9152-8

Abstract
This article discusses the questions and issues that prompted the founding of the Diana Project, a
multi-university research program aimed at identifying factors that support and enable high growth
in women-led ventures. Despite the fact that women business owners comprise a significant portion
of the economy, women face challenges in acquiring the resources needed to expand their
businesses. This article details both the myths and realities associated with womens
entrepreneurship in their quest for growth. In particular, we examine the strategies that women
entrepreneurs use to position their firms for growth, especially those strategies related to growth
capital. Our results show that women seeking venture capital (VC) have degrees, graduate degrees,
and experience that should not preclude them from obtaining financing. We also found that even
though women-led businesses are frequently clustered in industries less attractive to financiers,
women seeking equity funding are in the appropriate industries. Further, women spend a
considerable amount of time using both formal and informal networks in their search for capital and
in seeking capital. Because of the importance of the VC industry as a provider of growth capital and
its reliance on its network for investment referrals, we also examined the participation and role of
women as decision-makers in industry. Womens participation in the VC industry has not kept pace
with industry growth, and women have exited the industry at a faster rate than men, thus creating a
significant barrier for women entrepreneurs in that it is less likely that their networks will overlap
with the financial supplier networks, despite any effort they may expend networking and seeking
capital.

Keywords Equity funding - Female entrepreneurship - Growth resources - Venture

capital

A Review of Key Readings in the Study of Women and Management

Women and Management, Volumes 1 & 2. Edited by Caroline Gatrell, Cary L.
Cooper and Ellen Ernst Kossek, Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA, Edward
Elgar, 2010. 1095 pp. $560 (hardcover). ISBN: 978-1-84844-326-6
Diana Bilimoria

and Chantal van Esch

SEX ROLES
Volume 67, Numbers 1-2 (2012), 127-130, DOI: 10.1007/s11199-012-0129-3
BOOK REVIEW

(nu are abstract)

Ways Women Lead

Judy B. Rosener

LEADERSHIP, GENDER, AND ORGANIZATION

Issues in Business Ethics,

2011, Volume 27, Part 1, 19-29, DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9014-0_3

Abstract
While Mary Hartman helped us see the importance of continually rethinking our response to the
issues that women face, Judy Rosener frames the problems and opportunities that women encounter
in organizations in a very specific way. Her response is one that emphasizes the unique contributions
that women leaders make within organizations. In her now classic article on women leaders we find a
demonstration that a transformative collaborative model of leading is both more typical of women
leaders and actually very effective, particularly in large organizations. As the book progresses, we
shall see that the strategy of emphasizing women leaders unique leadership style also has its
dangers, as it tends to strengthen gender stereotypes. We however include this perspective here
because we want to trace the various possible responses to the changing situation of women within
organizations, and consider its costs and benefits before offering new perspectives. Roseners article
does offer us some crucial insights into alternative leadership models that may be more appropriate
responses to contemporary organizational dynamics. Although Rosener barely touches on it, a
transformational leader is more comfortable in a complex environment of a large multinational
corporation, and that style of leadership, in turn, is more conducive to leadership success in global
companies.

Factors Relating to Managerial Stereotypes: The Role of Gender of the

Employee and the Manager and Management Gender Ratio
Janka I. Stoker, Mandy Van der Velde

and Joris Lammers

JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY

Volume 27, Number 1

(2012), 31-42, DOI: 10.1007/s10869-011-9210-0

Abstract
Purpose
Several studies have shown that the traditional stereotype of a good manager being masculine and
male still exists. The recent changes in the proportion of women and female managers in
organizations could affect these two managerial stereotypes, leading to a stronger preference for
feminine characteristics and female leaders. This study examines if the gender of an employee, the
gender of the manager, and the management gender ratio in an organization are related to
employees managerial stereotypes.
Design/Methodology/Approach
3229 respondents working in various organizations completed an electronic questionnaire.
Findings
The results confirm our hypotheses that, although the general stereotype of a manager is masculine
and although most prefer a man as a manager, female employees, employees with a female
manager, and employees working in an organization with a high percentage of female managers,
have a stronger preference for feminine characteristics of managers and for female managers.
Moreover, we find that proximal variables are much stronger predictors of these preferences than
more distal variables.
Implications
Our study suggests that managerial stereotypes could change as a result of personal experiences and
changes in the organizational context. The results imply that increasing the proportion of
female managersis an effective way to overcome managerial stereotyping.

Originality/Value
This study examines the influence on managerial stereotypes of various proximal and distal factors
derived from theory among a large group of employees (in contrast to students).

Keywords Leadership Gender Managerial stereotypes Management gender ratio

Women in business: entrepreneurship, ethics and efficiency

Marta Peris-Ortiz, Carlos Rueda-Armengot

and Diana Benito Osorio

INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MANAGEMENT JOURNAL

Volume 8, Number 3

(2012), 343-354, DOI: 10.1007/s11365-011-0177-0

Abstract
This article begins by reviewing some of the main theoretical approaches to entrepreneurship. We
then discuss the measures proposed in the literature to benefit women, facilitating reconciliation of
work and family life and examining the view of authors who consider the negative effects of these
measures. Finally, we contemplate situations where the measures benefiting women are based on
economic or ethical reasons. This last section qualifies the universalist approach underlying workfamily life reconciliation, describing the context for interaction between women and entrepreneurial
activity.

Keywords Women Entrepreneurship Universalist approach Ethics

A qualitative approach to the challenges for women in management: are they

really starting in the 21st century?
Rosario Vzquez-Carrasco, Ma. Eugenia Lpez-Prez

and Edgar Centeno

QUALITY & QUANTITY

Volume 46, Number 5

(2012), 1337-1357, DOI: 10.1007/s11135-011-9449-6

Abstract
Traditionally, the role of women in business responsibility jobs has provided extensive and much
discussed issues. Almost 20 years ago research on WIB was very rich. Some discussions
surrounding women in business included, for instance: learning about their situation at work, their
strong and weak management capabilities and possible setbacks to their promotion and consolidation
in positions of responsibility. In any case, it did seem that conciliation between family and work
lives, in general, was a setback for most women. By the beginning of 21st century the work of
Leonard (Womens Stud Int Forum 24:6778, 2001) analyzed the state-of-the-art, concluding that not
much had changed in terms of the challenges faced by women. Therefore, it may seem appropriate,
to readdress the situation for women in management as this new century reaches its first decade.
This paper takes as a reference the context of an occidental and developed country such as Spain.
We develop a multi-case study which allows us to (i) analyze the opinion of a group of women and
men who work in high and intermediate management positions, (ii) defend the suitability to
overcome the differences between men and women and (iii) admit the consideration of different
female profiles. In such cases, firms may take several advantages stemming from both gender and
personal characteristics.

Keywords Woman Management Responsibility Work-family conciliation Multi-case

study

A tale of two women leaders: Diversity policies and practices in enterprise

universities
Jane Wilkinson

THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER

Volume 36, Number 2

(2009), 39-54, DOI: 10.1007/BF03216898

Abstract
This paper explores the ways in which senior female academics leadership practices are informed
and negotiated in relation to a multiplicity of fields. As part of the shift in the logics of practice
underpinning the Australian academic terrain, there has been a movement from the implementation
of equity policies to that of diversity in relation to the employment of academic staff, characterised
by neoliberal discourses of new public management which favour the production of the
individualistic, entrepreneurial academic identity as opposed to notions of collectivity and the public
good. However, diversity policies are not the sole texts that inform the ways in which
many women leaders operate, nor the most important in guiding the practices they produce. Drawing
on a larger study of representations of womens leadership in the media and academia, this paper
examines how two leading female academics drew upon a range of logics of practices within the
different fields of academia, feminism and Indigenous rights to inform their leadership practices. In
so doing, the women contested the emergent logic of practice underpinning the contemporary
Australian academic field. Such contestation can be considered one of the subaltern consequences
of policy regimes and forms an integral part of policy fields.

Developing female middle-managers in Australian universities

Michelle Wallace

and Teresa Marchant

HIGHER EDUCATION
Volume 58, Number 6

(2009), 781-797, DOI: 10.1007/s10734-009-9225-x

Abstract
Universities should be developing female middle-managers for reasons of gender balance (Aitkin in
The Last Boilerhouse Address, Canberra University 2001), the skills shortage, pending mass
retirements (Chesterman in Not doable jobs? Exploring senior womens attitudes to leadership roles
in universities.Womens Higher Education Network Conference, Bolton, 2004) and sustainable, postbureaucratic organizations (Kira and Forslin in J Organ Change Manage 21(1): 7691, 2008).
Investigating the learning and development of women managers is timely. Research assumes that
women in academe have the qualifications, experience and skills for management. Is this the case?
The paper provides the first national demographic and development profile of women middlemanagers in academic and the research-neglected administrative streams in Australian universities,
with a sample of 342 women (46% response rate). Age is a particularly notable demographic with the
majority of academics within 510 years of retirement. Nearly 60% of academics experienced few
current development opportunities and their discipline-based qualifications did not prepare them for
management. However, a greater number of administrative managers received relevant preparatory
training. Once in their current management roles women experienced markedly fewer development
opportunities. If higher education institutions are learning organizations, continuous learning should
be evident (Watkins in Adv Dev Hum Res 7(3): 414, 2005). Our research shows this is far from the
case.

Keywords Gender - Middle-managers - Skills shortage - Learning

A preliminary analysis of this research was presented at ATN/WEXDEV International
Conference, Change in climate? Prospects for gender equity in Universities, 11-13 April 2006,
Adelaide, South Australia.

Women Directors on Corporate Boards: From Tokenism to Critical Mass

Mariateresa Torchia, Andrea Calabr

and Morten Huse

JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS

Volume 102, Number 2

(2011), 299-317, DOI: 10.1007/s10551-011-0815-z

Abstract
Academic debate on the strategic importance of women corporate directors is widely recognized and
still open. However, most corporate boards have only one woman director or a small minority of
women directors. Therefore they can still be considered as tokens. This article addresses the
following question: does an increased number of women corporate boards result in a build up of
critical mass that substantially contributes to firm innovation? The aim is to test if at least three
women could constitute the desired critical mass by identifying different minorities of women
directors (one woman, two women and at least three women). Tests are conducted on a sample of
317 Norwegian firms. The results suggest that attaining critical mass going from one or two women
(a few tokens) to at least three women (consistent minority) makes it possible to enhance the level
of firm innovation. Moreover, the results show that the relationship between the critical mass of
women directors and the level of firm innovation is mediated by board strategic tasks. Implications
for both theory and practice, and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords corporate governance critical mass theory board strategic

tasks organizational innovation tokenism women directors