Clearing the Hurdles: Women Building High-Growth Businesses

C

HAPTER

2•W

OMEN

E

NTREPRENEURS

: P

ATHWAYS AND

C

HALLENGES

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Why Are the Hurdles Higher?

Throughout economic history, government statistics, books, research,

and media attention focused primarily on men. Names like John D.

Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates capture the spirit of entrepre-

neurship in the United States and help define the characteristics that are

associated with potential success: risk taking, independence, and ratio-

nal and instrumental pursuit of economic opportunities.

8

Until the early

1990s, what we knew about venture creation came purely from our

knowledge of the experiences of male entrepreneurs and their busi-

nesses.

9

Not surprisingly, the characteristics and expected behaviors

for entrepreneurs were “male” in nature.

At the same ...