Irish Women's Award

Monday 26 September 2022

Defined as entrepreneurial activity that takes place primarily through digital media, mobile applications and development, cloud computing and the internet of things, digital entrepreneurship is widespread and growing within our internet-connected societies. 

It is posited to lower the normal barriers to entry when starting a business, reduce overheads, provide access to unlimited global customer base, and increase the flexibility of work . 

Digital entrepreneurship is particularly relevant to women who are still more likely to be primary care providers for children and elders and may be more inclined to seek part-time or flexible working schedules . 

Despite this, little is known about how women experience the transition into digital entrepreneurial careers, and the coping strategies they employ in order to navigate this new digital work environment. This was starting point for a new study by Queen’s University Belfast and Dublin City University which looks at the experiences of women who have changed careers to become digital entrepreneurs within the health and fitness sector. 

The research undertook interviews with women digital entrepreneurs based in Ireland who previously held jobs such as nursing, accountancy, and teaching, in order to capture their lived experiences of being a female digital entrepreneur.

The findings highlight the potential of digital technology for women and demonstrates how women negotiate a new sense of self as digital entrepreneurs when occupational structures, roles, and their associated status are gone. 

Interestingly, the findings shed light on the creative ways in which women digital entrepreneurs acquire and develop new knowledge, skills and relationships. It also highlighted the opportunities afforded by digital technologies as enablers of new business models for women, and working in digital spaces as sites of freedom and excitement, giving them an opportunity to have flexibility and to be more productive and creative. 

The other benefits included building new networks and online communities, building knowledge and becoming leaders and authoritative figures; and the work offering a sense of meaning and purpose. 

However, working in the digital space does not come without a few downsides. The women reported feelings of self-questioning, alienation and embarrassment about pursuing a digital career which was coupled with scepticism and critique from friends and colleagues. They also expressed feelings of being under scrutiny with a blurring of private and public boundaries, particularly due to the unregulated nature of digital spaces, which meant that harassment and bullying were unfortunately an endemic feature.  

Women entrepreneurs make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of society but continue to be underrepresented in digital spaces. This study shows that the digital entrepreneurship journey for women is a paradoxical cocktail of excitement, creativity, symbolic stress, perception of outsider status, and social inferiority.

By Dr Gráinne Kelly, Lecturer in Management from Queen’s Management School at Queen’s University Belfast and Professor Maura McAdam, Professor of Management and Director of Entrepreneurship at DCU Business School.  The research was funded by the CHARMS Centre at Queen’s Management School. 

- https://www.womeninbusinessni.com/news/member-news/the-rise-of-the-female-digital-entrepreneur

Featured in RTE Brainstorm- 9th of August 2022

Analysis: here's how budding women business owners and entrepreneurs can overcome the pitfalls and challenges they face

Entrepreneurship has traditionally been associated with men and was once considered a form of masculinity and a "men only" career. In years gone by, some even claimed that entrepreneurship required high levels of testosterone. Although this may now seem absurd, this traditional association of entrepreneurship with men and all its embedded assumptions can still present challenges for those considering entrepreneurship who do not fit the ideal image of the male entrepreneur – namely women.

I have conducted 35,000 hours of research and interviewed 300 female entrepreneurs in various stage of their journeys. It is clear that entrepreneurs, regardless of gender, face such generic challenges as finance, building a customer base and growing the business to name just a few.

Here, I have distilled my research into five things potential women entrepreneurs should be aware of as they attempt to navigate the pitfalls. For those women who do decide to become entrepreneurs, they are positioned within contemporary entrepreneurial discourse, including popular media, as a discrete and separate category with their own label – "female entrepreneurs" "mumpreneurs", "fempreneurrs", or "lipsticks entrepreneurs". These special classifications only go to confirm that there are normal entrepreneurs (men, family teams, partnerships) and then, separate from them, there are women.

Don't be afraid to say 'I am entrepreneur'

Women are often reluctant to claim the entrepreneurial identity. Many of the women I have worked with refer to their "wee business"! This reluctance is significant as "owning/claiming" is an important first step in the building of a credible entrepreneurial identity (i.e., being seen by stakeholders as an entrepreneur). Women need to be bold and not be afraid to say "I am an entrepreneur" when asked what they do for a living.

You have permission to start a business

Given that women often find it difficult to see themselves as entrepreneurs, and some feel that they need permission to do be one, my key message is to be aware that you do not have to wait until you get a degree, gain 10 years’ experience or reach some other self-prescribed milestone before you can be an entrepreneur – just do it. Don’t wait till you have all your ducks neatly in a row. Rather than waiting for permission, the right time and right circumstances, be ready to act. Just do it!

Digital first

The rapid acceleration of digital technologies is reshaping markets and society globally. In Ireland, whether you are a student, an employee, a customer, a business leader or a mere observer, it seems that everyone is talking about 'digital.’ As the recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown, digital technologies enable new business models for every industry. Regardless of your business idea, if you not starting up digitally or with digital in mind, ask yourself why not. Rather than getting stuck on the tech versus non tech divide, wider your horizons by thinking different degrees of tech.

Networking is an important intangible resource for any entrepreneur. As well as being a resource, it is also a skill and, like any skill, practice makes perfect. However, it is important to be aware that when it comes to networking, as humans we tend to flock towards PLU (people like us), in other words homophily. When creating your networking training plan, try to identify gaps in your network and how you can fill them. One way in which to fill such gaps maybe to join a professional network.

There is a lot of debate with regards to what is best for women i.e. women only networks versus mixed networks. My research shows the importance of women only networks when starting off as they are good for building confidence and reducing the isolation associated with starting a business. As you, your business and your growth ambitions grow, your networks should too. They should reflect the broader entrepreneurial ecosystems, one composed of a variety of diverse stakeholders including men.

Mindset and expectations matter when it comes to creating a vision of what is possible (i.e., growth ambitions), but they can also act as unconscious constraints, limiting what is possible, especially if we focus on our problems, our worries, and allow impostor syndrome to take hold. When it comes to growth ambitions, try to let go of preconceived notions and not just think big but think bigger. Once you begin to adopt a practice of expanding your expectations, what you see as possible becomes probable. Simply put, do not be afraid of big things.

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2022/0809/1314694-women-business-entrepreneur-tips/