Role Models and Women Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial Superwoman Has Her Say ^*

* In an ironic nod to the “superwoman” theme of this article, the birth of three babies and three respective maternity leaves took place over the course of this research project. Milo, Selim and Miguel, this publication is dedicated to you.

Abstract

It is suggested that more “role model” women entrepreneurs are needed. However, the gender gap in entrepreneurship remains. This study analyses the narratives of 51 role model women entrepreneurs to explore how they represent women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. We found that in accordance with the contemporary pressure for women to succeed and perform personally and professionally, the voice of the (super)woman doing “individualized entrepreneurial femininity” dominates. The role models narratives obscure race, class, and age barriers; reproduce prevailing gender stereotypes; normalize discriminatory workplace treatment and depict entrepreneurship as an appropriate alternative for working mothers. Implications for policy makers are presented.

* In an ironic nod to the “superwoman” theme of this article, the birth of three babies and three respective maternity leaves took place over the course of this research project. Milo, Selim and Miguel, this publication is dedicated to you.

* In an ironic nod to the “superwoman” theme of this article, the birth of three babies and three respective maternity leaves took place over the course of this research project. Milo, Selim and Miguel, this publication is dedicated to you.

Notes

* In an ironic nod to the “superwoman” theme of this article, the birth of three babies and three respective maternity leaves took place over the course of this research project. Milo, Selim and Miguel, this publication is dedicated to you.

7. While Lewis's (2014) entrepreneurial femininities theorizing did not provide a front end frame to our research (in fact, it was more of a back‐end research tool, we discovered this theory subsequent to our data collection and it enormously helped in situating our findings), we present it here in this section for the sake of form and consistency.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Janice Byrne

Janice Byrne is Associate Professor of Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour in the Management Department at IÉSEG School of Management, France.

Salma Fattoum

Salma Fattoum is Assistant Professor in Strategy in the Department of Management at INSEEC Business School (Lyon, France).

Maria Cristina Diaz Garcia

Maria Cristina Diaz Garcia is Associate Professor of Management in the Department of Business Administration at the School of Economics and Business Administration in Albacete within University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), Spain.