Entrepreneurs and Motherhood

Résumé du livre

Although female entrepreneurs struggle to balance work and family life, little attention has been paid to the effects of the entrepreneurial lifestyle on their children.A study of women entrepreneurs from the United States, a developed nation, and South Africa, a developing nation, promises to illuminate the impact of women's entrepreneurial activities on childhood experiences, perceptions, and visions of the future, as well as the factors that most influence the career plans of children who are growing up with an entrepreneurial mother.Following a review of research on women-owned businesses, the structure of the study is outlined. The South African sample comprised 10 "entrepreneurial" families, while the United States' sample included 13 families.Three surveys (one each for the mothers, teenage children, and adult children) were administered.Entrepreneurs were asked to assess the impact of the business on family life and the children's experiences and career goals, while children were asked how having a mother who owned a business affected their lives and career plans. Most entrepreneurs reported that family demands slowed the growth of their businesses but saw themselves as role models for their children; in particular, mothers felt that they had an impact on their children's appreciation for professional independence, as well as their understanding of the need for a balance between work and family. Children, meanwhile, regarded the business as disruptive of family life but generally did not resent the disruption.Although they respected their mothers' career choices and associated entrepreneurship with freedom, control, and achievement, most children reported a desire not to follow their mothers' footsteps.Overall, the study suggests that female entrepreneurs are indeed capable of balancing work and family demands and that the impact of female entrepreneurship on childhood experiences is mostly positive.(SAA).