An Exploration Of Gender And Trust In Mentoring Relationships

To explore the role of gender and trust in mentoring, fifteen interviews with mentors were conducted. Eight mentors were male and seven were female; eight were involved in cross-gender mentoring. Subjects were asked to discuss the levels of trust they had developed in their relationships, and what had influenced its development. Interviews were conducted by telephone, transcribed, and analyzed independently by the two authors. This paper will present these findings and discuss future avenues of research. Practical implications to mentoring program designers are also discussed

Policy Support for Women Entrepreneurs' Access to Financial Capital: Evidence from Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and the United States

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Coleman, S., Henry, C., Orser, B., Foss, L. & Welter, F. (2018). Policy Support for Women Entrepreneurs' Access to Financial Capital: Evidence from Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and the United States. Journal of Small Business Management, 1-27, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12473. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.This cross‐country study documents policies and practices designed to increase women entrepreneurs’ access to financial capital in Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and the United States. Drawing on feminist theory, we examine assumptions of policy alongside the eligibility criteria, rules and regulations of practices. Our findings reveal that four of the five country policies examined were predicated on a neo‐liberal perspective that positions women entrepreneurs as economic assets. We offer insights into opportunities for modernizing policies and practices in ways that will enhance the legitimacy of a more diverse array of women entrepreneurs and increase their access to financial capital

The Influence of Gender and Occupational-Role on Entrepreneurs’ and Corporate Managers’ Success Criteria

This study explores the construct of success by drawing on a sample of 326 entrepreneurs and 545 corporate managers. Respondents considered success criteria associated with employment and business ownership to be, on average, more important than personal and family dimensions of success. After controlling for occupation-role and human capital (e.g., age, education, years of work experience), the importance of success criteria differed by gender for some, but not all success criteria: male and female managers and entrepreneurs did not differ with respect to the importance ascribed to work-life balance. Among female respondents, an increase in the importance ascribed to “professional autonomy” was associated with decreased likelihood of being employed in a management role in corporate Canada. Among male respondents, an increase in importance ascribed to financial criteria was reflected in an increase likelihood of being employed in a management role in corporate Canada. This research illustrates the importance of controlling for occupation, gender, and human capital when examining work and family values

Client perceptions about women-focused business development programs and the implications for entrepreneurship policy

There is little research about the influence of gender on knowledge acquisition through small business training or user perceptions of women-focused advisory services. This study documents the views of 212 clients of a Canadian womenfocused small business Centre with respect to motives of program usage and perceived differences between women-focused and other small business services. Rationales for women-focused programming are considered. This exploratory study informs the development a large-scale research program that will examine further women-focused and non-gendered small business policies and programs