Women in Business: Perspectives on Women Entrepreneurs

by Sheila Allen

The pivotal role of the small business in the economy was widely hailed in the west at the end of the 1980s and is now seen as the key to the development of new market economies of Eastern Europe. It is also well-accepted that women have formed a noticeably high proportion of the self-employed sector. Despite this, the significance of female entrepreneurship seems to have been neglected by researchers and policymakers alike. In "Women in Business", leading researchers make links between life-styles and business-styles, the multiple roles played by women, the interface between business and family life, paid and unpaid work, and the changing social and economic patterns that are currently affecting both east and west. Above all, the studies presented here go some way towards breaking the "statistical purdah" that conceals the activities of women in the economy. The issues raised by this research broaden our understanding of business enterprise in general. It is clear that gender relations and the ways in which they facilitate or obstruct business activity, form a crucial element in understanding the development of business in different societies.

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