A PICTURE OF WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A FIELD STUDY ON MOTIVATION FACTORS, REGIONAL DIFFERENCES and VALUE PERCEPTIONS

Year 2017, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 160 - 169, 30.06.2017

Sevgi Kesim Guven , Tamer Atabarut Aylin Lole

https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2017.471

Abstract

Purpose- It is a
fact that the active participation of women in business life began later in
developing countries. The socio-economic systems of the nations and systems of
values caused this delay; however, other versions of the glass ceiling in
business life exist for female entrepreneurs. The issue of female entrepreneurs
is a painful issue for developing countries such as Turkey, although women’s
entrepreneurship is still on the rise. As well as state-sponsored projects,
non-governmental organizations also try to support women’s entrepreneurship.

Methodology- The
materials used in this study mainly depend on the outcomes and analyses of the
questionnaires administered to the aspiring female entrepreneurs who
participated in educational programs in Gaziantep, İzmir, Kastamonu, Adana,
Çanakkale and Konya within the corporate social responsibility project (My Idea
is My Future) carried out by the Inclusive Growth Association and the Boğaziçi
University Lifelong Learning Centre with the support of the Union of Chambers
and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the General Directorate for SME
Development (KOSGEB) and sponsorship of JTI Turkey in last two years.

Findings- This study
describes the demographic characteristics of the aspiring female entrepreneurs
who participated in the educational program, the attitudes towards women’s
entrepreneurship, the factors that obstruct entrepreneurship activities, the
effects of the choice to be an entrepreneur on family roles, the preferred
women entrepreneur models and women’s perception of being valued.

Conclusion- These
statements allow to create a picture of aspiring female entrepreneurs in
different cities in Turkey and is expected to guide the planning of the next
steps of other social responsibility programs. 

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurship, types of women in entrepreneurship, socio-economic aspects of entrepreneurship

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