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PurposeThe paper seeks to explore the experiences of owners of rural tourism accommodation businesses in New Zealand within the framework of copreneurship. It aims to examine roles within copreneurial rural tourism businesses and describes and evaluates women's experiences of entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThe method of the research is a postal survey of rural tourism accommodation business owners complemented by in‐depth interviews with women in copreneurial business relationships. Triangulation of data sources and methods, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques enables a rich understanding of copreneurial expectations, roles and responsibilities and of women's experiences specifically.FindingsThe paper finds that the rural tourism accommodation sector in New Zealand is characterised by lifestylers and copreneurs running their businesses as a "hobby" and that non‐economic, lifestyle motivations are important stimuli to business formation. The paper also finds that any perception of copreneurship as a tool for enabling women to become freed from traditional gender roles may not equal the reality as a gendered ideology persists even through copreneurial relationships in rural tourism. Copreneurial couples appear to engage in running the accommodation business using traditional gender‐based roles mirroring those found in the private home.Originality/valueThe paper goes some way toward addressing the fact that there exists an underexplored and unarticulated feminine set of processes and behaviours in new venture production. In this research, women's voices were able to come through in both the survey and the interview research and their experiences are reported through their narratives. What is revealed is that a gendered ideology persists even through copreneurial relationships in rural tourism.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between an individual's personal acquaintance with an entrepreneur and his/her participation in entrepreneurial activity at three distinct new venture stages: discovery (intending to start a business), start‐up (actively in the process of starting a business), and young (running a business for less than three months).Design/methodology/approachUsing Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data from 35 countries (n=311,720) pooled across three years (2002‐2004) and multinomial logistic regression, the paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurial networking and entrepreneurial participation across gender. Gender differences in entrepreneurial networking are also examined.FindingsThe findings indicate that individuals who personally know an entrepreneur are more likely to participate in entrepreneurial activity at any venture stage but that female entrepreneurs, compared with their male counterparts, are less likely to be acquainted with an entrepreneur. Taken together, these findings suggest that one of the reasons why women are less likely to become entrepreneurs is that they lack entrepreneurial resource providers or role models in their social networks.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is subject to two limitations. First, the paper includes a single item measure of social network composition. Second, although the paper includes data from 2000 to 2004, the dataset is cross‐sectional and is thus based on different cohorts of participants. The paper offers a number of implications for theory, practice, and future research. One of the most important implications is that female entrepreneurship participation could be enhanced by policy directed at promoting female entrepreneur role models and connecting women with entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe paper utilizes a representative sample of 311,720 individuals in 35 countries. Entrepreneurs are classified as operating at three distinct phases of the entrepreneurial process: discovery, start‐up, and young and the relationship between entrepreneurial networking and entrepreneurship participation is examined within each of these phases.

PurposeTraining Women to Win, a University of Surrey project set out to identify good practice in terms of available support and to produce and pilot recommendations that will improve current business support and training provision for women. In this context, this paper aims to consider some of the key challenges faced by women seeking to start a new business.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was posted online on a dedicated project web site, in collaboration with Everywoman Ltd Links were established from other sites. In total, about 1,000 women were targeted. A series of focus groups were also held.FindingsThe main findings of the project are that business support providers tend to be target driven and thus supply is not always geared to demand. One of the consequences of this target culture is a "one size fits all" strategy.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that many respondents, although largely aware that agencies exist, are often unaware of the services that they provide and/or how to access appropriate support. Business support is acknowledged by some to be very good at the initial stages. However, further into the business cycle, there appears to be less support for the growth phrase.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the growing body of work on female entrepreneurship and on the support they need.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to research the extent to which different types of values influence a woman's decision to become an entrepreneur.Design/methodology/approachThe paper constructs a two‐stage model to capture the entrepreneurial decision. In the first stage, life values affect the decision to enter the workforce. In the second stage, work values impact the type of employment sought: entrepreneur vs employee.FindingsIt is found that women whose life value is that "men should have scarce jobs before women" are less likely to participate in the labor force and hence less likely to become an entrepreneur; work values of initiative, achievement, and respect are positively correlated with entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe definition of entrepreneurship is limited to those who are self‐employed.Practical implicationsThe findings have important policy implications. If policy makers wish to spur the rate of entrepreneurship among women to make it approach or reach the same rate as men's, raising young women's awareness that they need not hold themselves secondary to men in the job market and instilling in them work values of achievement, initiative, and respect are important.Social implicationsIf policymakers address values that impede women's economic participation, they have the potential to assist both women's social status as well as their economic well‐being.Originality/valueThe contribution and originality of the work is the synthesis of labor economics and entrepreneurship scholarship in the two‐stage model of how values influence a woman's decision to become an entrepreneur.

PurposeThe paper seeks to explore whether women entrepreneurs may be more engaged with green issues than their male counterparts. The study was undertaken to add to our understanding of gendered attitudes and behaviours around green entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThe paper opted for a mixed method exploratory study consisting of quantitative datasets from two regional studies on environmental attitudes and behaviour and qualitative data generated as part of an Australian green entrepreneurship training program.FindingsThe study found that participating women had stronger environmental attitudes and commitment to the green entrepreneurship program than males, suggesting that women entrepreneurs may be more engaged in green issues than male entrepreneurs.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the exploratory study approach, research results lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed framework.Practical implicationsUnderstanding gendered behaviours has implications for policy and education in terms of greening the small business sector. It also has implications for business innovation, the green marketplace and a sustainable post‐carbon future.Originality/valueThe paper helps lay the foundation for comprehensive research on women entrepreneurs' engagement with environmental issues and green entrepreneurship.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for a shift from traditional sources of enterprise activity to routes that stimulate economic growth. In particular, it focuses on the potential of women‐owned businesses to contribute to economic recovery, and asks if creating greater access to corporate and government contracts, through initiatives such as WEConnect.Design/methodology/approachThis is essentially a discussion paper starting the debate on the contribution women business owners can make to the recovery of the economic meltdown.FindingsConnecting with women‐owned businesses is no longer about corporate social responsibility or, indeed, levelling the proverbial "playing field". It is simply a business imperative!Originality/valueThis is an original piece of work aimed at raising awareness of the value of women business owners in the supply chain.