Entrepreneurship

Framework Identifying the Heterogeneous Resource Constraints Faced by Women

Entrepreneurs at the Planning and Managing Stages.

The aim of this research was to explore and identify the underlying dynamics in women
entrepreneurship in the Sydney metropolitan region in Australia. While the main focus was on
constraints and barriers, women in business face in general, the paper also specifically puts forth
self-reported challenges about obtaining resources in the form of skills constraint, funding and
network and support services. The goal is to understand the experiences of the Australian women
entrepreneurs and recognise the constraints in resource requirements at varied stages of their
business and the challenging environment in which they operate. This research found that
challenges that the potential and the existing women entrepreneurs face can be divided into two
areas: (a) barriers affecting women considering or planning a career in small business and (b)
problems experienced by women managing their own business. Both groups identified the
significance of access to varied resources for the survival and success of their business and
pointed out that it was difficult to get a good mix of all these resources as the resource
requirement in each case were heterogeneous at the varied stages of their business. Using the
resource-based theory, this study recognizes the significance of heterogeneous resources at
different stages in the business owned by women in Australia. The research identifies, firm-level
factors and resource requirements for the survival and performance of women owned business in
Australia. This study concludes that although human, social and financial resources are vital at
each stage of the women owned business, the human capital requirement are stronger at the
planning stages to set their business afloat and the social capital requirements are stronger at the
managing stage for the survival of their business. (Chavan, 2011)

The Diana Project: pioneering women studying pioneering women

The 2007 winner of the International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research
is the Diana Project team (Candida Brush, Nancy Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia Greene
and Myra Hart). The Diana Project builds on the vast experience of the team in the field of
entrepreneurship in general and women entrepreneurship, business growth and venture capital in
particular. The Diana Project has investigated the supply and demand side of growth capital for
women entrepreneurs. The research contributes to entrepreneurship theory as well as to practice,
filling a void in knowledge on growth-oriented women entrepreneurship. In this article we
present and discuss the research contribution of the Diana Project, in the areas of
entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurship and venture capital. We specifically discuss the value
of researching a specific group of women entrepreneurs, those who want to grow their
businesses, that very clearly demonstrates the positive potential of female entrepreneurship. The
Diana Project has also moved research on womens entrepreneurship forward since its
framework does not treat women entrepreneurs as other, i.e., the project does not presuppose
that womens entrepreneurship is similar to or different from mens entrepreneurship. It assumes
that womens entrepreneurship is entrepreneurship and studies it from that point of view.
(Holmquist & Carter, 2009)

Glass Ceilings
Has the glass ceiling cracked? An exploration of women entrepreneurship
Many women are saying goodbye to the corporate world in favor of creating their own through
entrepreneurship. This paper explores some of the reasons why women in today's workforce
change from the rise on the corporate ladder path to the world of entrepreneurship. Issues such as
job stress and one of its most notable offshoots - the 'glass ceiling' are presented. Ultimately,
women initiated organizations define the women's movement of the 21st century. (Kephart &
Schumacher, 2005)

C-Change? Generation Y and the Glass Ceiling.

The article discusses how gender equity changes over time in various industries in the U.S.
Previous studies focused into the complicated workplace situation for executives, long-time
workers and women. There are several factors which made women advanced to top positions and
being retained by the company. Over the years, gender wage gap was found to have narrowed
since 1963. In addition, child bearing and rearing are unlikely to remove women from the
workforce with two-thirds of those expecting a first child working while pregnant as well as the
increase in the level of education among women. (Eisner & Harvey, 2009)
Women executives in the gaming industry: Can they break through the glass ceiling?
This study investigates to what extent the glass ceiling exists for women in the Nevada gaming
industry. The results of this study show that women in the gaming industry have less of an
opportunity to demonstrate relevant abilities, such as leadership and conceptual skills, by means
of their involvement in strategy implementation. Based on the results of this study, the researcher
concludes that if women want to break the glass ceiling, they must begin by understanding the
male-dominated system at least in the short run. Most importantly, women must seek out
opportunities to demonstrate skills that are most important to promotion into senior-level
leadership positions. (Schaap, 2008)
Empowerment
Women Empowerment through Social Initiatives: An Indian Story
It is now proven that the relationship between business and society is integral in the success of
any enterprise. With the growing role of business in society, organizations are becoming more
"socially responsible" and engaging in various social initiatives. Organizations involve
themselves in various kinds of initiatives generally targeted towards a selected underprivileged
section of the society or a specific area like education, health, and environment. Women play an
important role in building sustainable development. Promoting women empowerment and
widening their contribution in decision-making roles are key strategies for sustainable
development. The present paper is an attempt to highlight women empowerment through various
social initiatives. In this regard, I attempted to review some of the exemplary sustainable social
initiatives running in India through this paper. (Singhal, 2014)