Female Entrepreneurship by McAdam, Maura;

Short description:

The contribution of female entrepreneurs to aggregate economic activity has gained increasing attention over recent years in terms of theory, practice and policy. By using a series of case studies, this text illustrates the analytical tension present between gender and entrepreneurial behaviour and will be important supplementary reading on entrepreneurship, small business management and women's/gender studies courses.

Long description:

Female entrepreneurship, and, in particular, the contribution of their ventures to aggregate economic activity has gained increasing attention over recent years in terms of theory, practice and policy. This concise book explores how women fit into the contemporary entrepreneurial discourse by recognizing that gender intersects with, and influences, women?s experience of entrepreneurship.

The book is novel in that it considers women to be a heterogeneous group and as such acknowledges that ethnicity, culture, class and education will all influence and intersect with female entrepreneurship. As a consequence, it explores issues ranging from theoretical relationships between the constructs of gender and entrepreneurship to more empirical work on how entrepreneurship might act as an empowering change agent for women. In order to address the Euro-US centric assumptions underpinning the influence of gender upon entrepreneurship, a chapter is dedicated to the role of entrepreneurship in empowering Palestine women.

This book will be important supplementary reading on entrepreneurship, small business management and women's/gender studies courses - it will prove particularly useful to women moving towards starting their own business as well as postgraduate students researching the topic for the first time.

'Comprehensive. Interesting. Valuable. The entrepreneurship domain is at the right moment to receive this text which assesses and sets us right on a future path to consider women entrepreneurs as individuals, organizational leaders and economic ecosystem participants. There are complex, multi-faceted issues that greatly benefit from Dr. McAdam?s consideration and analysis.'

Teresa Nelson, Elizabeth J. McCandless Chair in Entrepreneurship, Simmons College, USA

'This book is a useful and highly relevant complement for any course working at the intersection of gender and entrepreneurship. The author greatly advances our understanding of the heterogeneity of the phenomena of women?s entrepreneurship through a clear integration of theory and practice.'

Patricia G. Greene, Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurship, Babson College, USA

'Compelling reading for anyone with an interest in female entrepreneurship, this text clearly articulates the key issues associated with female entrepreneurship and encourages the reader to think more deeply about the factors that influence women?s entrepreneurial experiences.'

Winthrop Professor John Watson, The University of Western Australia

Table of Contents:

1. Setting the Scene  2. The Socio
-Economic Context of Female Entrepreneurship  3. Entrepreneurship as Gendered  4. Feminist Methodological Approaches  5. Family in Women
-Owned Businesses and Women in Family Businesses  6. Non
-Financial Entrepreneurial Capital  7. Financing Women
-Owned Businesses  8. High Technology Entrepreneurship  9. Empowerment through Entrepreneurship  10. Setting Research Agendas