Over the past century, an extensive literature has developed, exploring the impact of entrepreneurship on economic performance. The active participation of entrepreneurs in virtually all aspects of business and economic activity has obliged policy makers within the global economy to consider entrepreneurship as a determining variable in any political force, not only for bodies and groups created specifically to this end, but also for any decision-making body. To this end, specific actions promoting entrepreneurship have already been established around the world. However, the particular dynamics of entrepreneurship by women present unique opportunities and challenges. The women’s perspective has often been overlooked in research, practice, and policymaking, and yet yields rich insights and implications. 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.

The Emerald Handbook of Women and Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies examines women's role in entrepreneurial practices in a range of developing countries and applies unique strategic contextual frameworks to analyse, interpret and understand individual processes, themes and issues.

Entrepreneurship is a key element in the development of market based economies and one of the potential drivers of change in countries that are in the process of transformation to market based systems. This book describes and critically assesses the nature and extent of female entrepreneurship in European economies that until 1990 were operating under central planning. At the core of the book are 7 country based chapters which provide an overview of the development of entrepreneurship and small firms since 1990, including a review of the institutional and policy context; an assessment of the role of women within the society during the socialist period; and any major changes afterwards. Each chapter also includes a thematic section (each one addressing a different issue) based on unique empirical data drawn from original research.

Entrepreneurship has seen an influx of industry-leading women. With this shift, women are now impacting a mainly male-dominated field and face ongoing challenges within this domain. Examining the Role of Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies is a critical scholarly resource that examines the influence and impact of women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as women empowerment, financial management strategies, and discriminatory practices, this book is a vital resource for business managers, organizational leaders, professionals, and researchers seeking current research on women-related issues in different types of work communities and environments.

This volume presents current research on gender studies in the specific context of the knowledge economy. Featuring contributions from the 2017 Annual Ipazia, the Scientific Observatory for Gender Studies Workshop on Gender, this book investigates gender issues and female entrepreneurship from social, economic, corporate, organizational, and management perspectives, with particular emphasis on advancing the understanding of gender in business and economic research. The post-industrial knowledge economy is characterized by an emphasis on human capital as the real engine of sustainable growth and development. With women comprising an increasing share of the global workforce, gender studies play a central role in exploring and understanding the attitudes and skills of women in business and their impact on economic and social development. Gender inequality in public and private contexts is decreasing due to an increase of women in leadership roles in business, the expansion and diversity of females in education, and a larger presence of women in policymaking roles. Ipazia, the Scientific Observatory for Gender Studies, aims to define an updated framework of research, service and projects on women and gender relations to highlight the evolution of gender in business and economics. This volume features contributions on female-owned family business, gender diversity in organizations, gender capital, and immigration from the 2017 Ipazia workshop.

Drawing on the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a frame of reference, this new edition of Female Entrepreneurship – Women’s Entrepreneurship – continues to challenge contemporary assumptions regarding who or what is an entrepreneur. It draws upon relevant literature and research to enable research-led teaching delivery and provides students with a comprehensive understanding of women’s entrepreneurship and a solid foundation from which they can pursue further studies. Informative but concise, Women’s Entrepreneurship covers key concepts, issues, themes and approaches and provides useful suggested topics for debate. Updates include a revised chapter on Emerging Technologies and Women’s Entrepreneurship, which explores digital entrepreneurship and cyberfeminism. Contextualisation of Women’s Entrepreneurship acknowledges the broader contextual influences on women’s entrepreneurship. Finally, two new chapters have been added looking at The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Women’s Entrepreneurship Policy. International case studies explore the socio-economic context for women’s entrepreneurship in regional, national and international economies. Pedagogy to aid learning is incorporated throughout, including learning outcomes, boxes to highlight key research insights and best practice as well as discussion points and activities. This book is important supplementary reading on entrepreneurship, small business management and women's and 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.

Women’s entrepreneurship is vital for economic and social development, yet female entrepreneurs worldwide are consistently found to have weaker sales and employment growth, fewer jobs, and lower profitability. This book was written to address this reality, and focuses on the high-growth potential of women entrepreneurs.