Research article: Gender and entrepreneurship

I will shortly comment on an article written by Susan Marlow and Maura McAdam in 2011: Gender and entrepreneurship. Comments will be written in a non-academic way.

The main theme is about myths about female entrepreneurs and why they are seen as under-performers. Already the word under-performing makes you read more. As a matter of fact I have never thought about that. Are women entrepreneurs under-performing? Okay I have to read a little bit further in the article. Well, there are more male entrepreneurs than female ones and female entrepreneurs tend to work in sectors of limited growth (p 115). Female entrepreneurs also tend to work part time and base their businesses in their homes. Quoting the authors: "So, we know that many female-owned firms are marginal and vulnerable; few are innovative entrepreneurial enterprises with the potential to create new wealth or act as net employment generators." (p.116) But the authors argue that this under-performing is not typical for female entrepreneurs but it is a reflection of small firms as such. The horrible thing is that female entrepreneurs are labeled. What could be done to avoid this stereotyping process? Should we avoid using gender as an explaining variable? One important thing according to Marlow & McAdam is  to stop focusing on "female lack" when doing research on female entrepreneurs. I totally agree. Maybe we should be interested in different ways of being an entrepreneur instead and see how that contributes to society? And when I talk about contribution, it's not only about economic value but also the value of empowerment. Feeling comfortable with your small company may contribute more to the well-being in our society.