That female entrepreneurship continues to lag behind male entrepreneurship is one of the great untapped opportunities in the economy today.  You can read a previous article in which I discuss some of the main ways society currently holds back female entrepreneurs.

For instance, society has a bias towards viewing men as more creative and innovative, despite the opposite being the case. Society also has much higher ethical expectations for female entrepreneurs than for male, which has implications in a “move fast and break things” world. Similarly, with entrepreneurship still demanding incredibly long hours, the difficulties for this in a world in which women are still expected to do the majority of domestic chores is problematic.

Recent research from the University of Kent shows that there are also biases in terms of the behavior expected of female entrepreneurs, with masculine norms, such as very long hours and dedicated commitment to the project, required to be perceived as a “proper” entrepreneur.

Female entrepreneurs

The research suggests that while female entrepreneurs view entrepreneurship and motherhood as compatible, they counter any notion that “mumpreneurship” is a viable and different way of doing business.

The authors conceptualize the mumpreneur as a mixture of masculine and feminine traits and the researchers aim to examine the conflicts that emerge when trying to raise a family while also running a business.

The analysis revealed that women who regard themselves as entrepreneurial mothers regarded any curtailment of their entrepreneurial activities as not an option.  For such women, conventional masculine behaviors were valued more highly than more conventional feminine behaviors.

Significant consequences

This form of hybrid behavior has a number of significant consequences.  For instance, in order to be seen as a “normal” entrepreneur, feminine behaviors are only really accepted if they don’t inhibit masculine commitment to the business.

Mumpreneurs also reported having to balance both behaviors while at the same time avoiding any “excessive” feminine conduct that may hold the business back in some way.  Indeed, entrepreneurs who were regarded as being “too feminine” were marginalized as they weren’t seen as being as committed to their business.

‘The mumpreneur identity has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the way women’s entrepreneurship is viewed,” the researchers conclude. “Nevertheless, our study demonstrates that it has not disrupted the dominant discourses of masculine entrepreneurship or gendered power relations in the field. Women are still in a position of being committed to both sides of the balance between business and motherhood but are devalued as entrepreneurs when devoting time to their children rather than the business.”