Research summary
Fewer than 16 per cent of businesses in Canada are owned by women. As Canada Research Chair in Entrepreneurship, Gender and Family Business, Dr. Jennifer Jennings is trying to improve our understanding of the challenges—as well as the opportunities—faced by female entrepreneurs.
A central tenet of Jennings’ work is that “family embeddedness” can shape a female entrepreneur’s values or beliefs and behaviours. In other words, family relationships can either support or constrain women who start their own companies. This idea is a departure from the assumption that personal characteristics are the greatest predictors of success. Jennings and her research team are examining the conditions that help or hinder female entrepreneurs, and the implications of family embeddedness for new ventures created by women.