Being taken seriously – shaping the pathways taken by Welsh female entrepreneurs

Abstract

Despite rapid growth in female entrepreneurship globally, the gender gap in self-employment remains and women's full contribution to the economy via self-employment continues to be unrealised. This paper explores pathways taken by women in Wales at start up and whilst running their own businesses. Female self-employment is a useful focus given current political interest and policy focus on SMEs revitalising the Welsh economy. Using a phenomenological approach employing narrative techniques and business life histories, a grounded account is provided of entrepreneurial practice from perceptions of the female entrepreneur herself. In their sense making, female entrepreneurs convey how lack of credibility (in terms of "not being taken seriously") and consequently the pursuit of attaining an often elusive level of credibility, strongly shapes business decisions and entrepreneurial experiences and occurs regardless of levels of educational achievement, previous work experience or industry sector, adding a layer of complexity to business decisions and strategies.

How do gender disparities in entrepreneurial aspirations emerge in Pakistan? An approach to mediation and multi-group analysis

“…According to gender perspectives on entrepreneurship, women are less likely than men to prefer traditionally male-dominated occupations, owing to women’s tendency to have lower self-efficacy perceptions regarding entrepreneurial career intentions and beliefs about social gender differences in personality and behavior. However, there are persistent gender disparities in entrepreneurship and self-employment worldwide [ 60 ]. Even though this is a significant problem, women’s lower entrepreneurial activity inclinations are not well understood [ 61 ].…”

Personality and social support as determinants of entrepreneurial intention. Gender differences in Italy

“…Koellinger and colleagues [ 59 ] found that the lower female propensity towards entrepreneurship is related to a lower level of confidence about their entrepreneurial capabilities, social network characteristics and a higher-level fear of failure. Atkinson and colleagues [ 58 ] suggested that one problem concerns the elusive nature of credibility, as revealed by female entrepreneurs, in terms of the need to be taken seriously. Wilson and colleagues [ 45 ] argued that entrepreneurial education increases the level of self-efficacy overall, but its impact is particularly strong in the case of women.…”