Women supporting women in entrepreneurship: Examining the role of women in empowering each other
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Abstract
In a world where women entrepreneurs continue to face systemic barriers, the support of other women entrepreneurs becomes not just a choice but a necessity for driving meaningful change and creating a more equitable and inclusive entrepreneurial landscape. Women entrepreneurs have experienced a significant 114% growth over the last twenty years, resulting in women owning one-third of businesses globally. Despite substantial progress, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the successful development and support of women entrepreneurs. An important focus is analysing the impact of other women in supporting women's entrepreneurship. This study uses the social identity theory as the framework and conducts online in-person interviews with 17 women entrepreneurs from four locations in Malaysia: Melaka, Selangor, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan. The emphasis is on investigating the role of other women in the entrepreneurial process. The findings show five essential roles women entrepreneurs offer to other women to sustain their businesses in various settings. Compared to other roles, women serve as role models that are substantially more important. This study explores the broader consequences of supporting women in promoting women entrepreneuers.
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References
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