Gender Analysis of Policies in Entreprenuership and Innovation

The Embla group has a long history of interest in women's entrepreneurship policy, together or in collaboration with international researchers. We study the assumptions about gender and entrepreneurship on which the policy is based, and what practices and results follow. In several contexts, we find that neoliberal (sometimes called post-feminist) policies that want to increase women's entrepreneurship do so in a way that reproduces women's subordination. More entrepreneurship is not necessarily better. Through comparative studies, we have also problematized, and contextualized international (read Anglo-Saxon) research and found that its theses on women's entrepreneurship largely depend on the welfare system they have. Other results can be found in Scandinavia, where welfare, particularly family policy is better developed.

Articles

Ahl, H., Berglund, K., Pettersson, K. & Tillmar, M. (2024). Women’s contributions to rural development: implications for entrepreneurship policy. Special issue in International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research. https://www.emerald.com/insight/1355-2554.htm

Ahl, H., & Marlow, S. (2021). Exploring the false promise of entrepreneurship through a postfeminist critique of the enterprise policy discourse in Sweden and the UK. Human Relations. 74(1): 41-68. DOI: 10.1177/0018726719848480

Ahl, Helene; Berglund, Karin; Pettersson, Katarina & Tillmar, Malin. (2016). From feminism to FemInc.ism: On the uneasy relationship between feminism, entrepreneurship and the Nordic welfare state. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 12(2), 369-392

Ahl, Helene & Nelson, Teresa. (2015). How policy positions women
entrepreneurs: A comparative analysis of state discourse in Sweden and
the United States. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(2), 273-291.

Ahl, Helene & Marlow, Susan. (2012). Exploring the dynamics of gender, feminism and entrepreneurship: advancing debate to escape a dead end? Organization, 19(5), 543-562.

Alkhaled, S. & Berglund, K. (2018) ‘And now I’m free’: Women’s empowerment and emancipation through entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia and Sweden, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 30:7-8, 877-900, DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2018.1500645

Berglund, K., Ahl, H., Pettersson, K., Tillmar, M. (2018). Women's entrepreneurship, neoliberalism and economic justice in the postfeminist era: A discourse analysis of policy change in Sweden. Gender, Work and Organization 25(5), 531-556.

Foss, L., Henry, C., Ahl, H., Mikalsen, G. (2018). Women’s entrepreneurship policy research: a 30-year review of the evidence. Small Business Economics, ISSN 0921-898X

Pettersson, Katarina, Ahl, Helene, Berglund, Karin, & Tillmar, Malin. (2017). In the name of women? Feminist readings of policies for women’s entrepreneurship in Scandinavia, Scandinavian Journal of Management, 33:1, 50-63.

Pettersson, Katarina. (2012). Support for Women’s Entrepreneurship – A Nordic Spectrum. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 4(1), 4-19. Utvald som ”Highly Commended Award Winner” av Literati Network Awards 2013.

Sköld, Birgitta & Tillmar, Malin. (2015). "Resilient gender order in entrepreneurship: The case of Swedish welfare industries". International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 7(1), 2-26.

Tillmar, Malin. (2016). Gendering commercial justice: experiences of self-employed women in urban Tanzania. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 10(I), 101-122.

Tillmar, M,. Ahl, H., Berglund, K. & Pettersson, K. (2022). The gendered effects of entrepreneurialism in contrasting contexts. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy. 16(5) pp. 808-828. doi.org/10.1108/JEC-12-2020-0208

Tillmar, M., Ahl, H., Berglund, K. & Pettersson, K. (2022). Neo-liberalism translated into preconditions for women entrepreneurs – two contrasting cases. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy. 16(4) pp. 603-630

Book chapters

Ahl, H., Tillmar, M., Berglund, H., Pettersson, K. (2023). Entrepreneurship as a losing proposition for women: gendered outcomes of neo-liberal entrepreneurship policy in a Nordic welfare state. In Henry, C., Coleman, S., Lewis, K. (Eds.) Women’s Entrepreneurship Policy: A global perspective Edward Elgar (pp 75-102). Accepted May 22, 2021.

Ahl, H (2021). Sweden. In OECD (2021), Entrepreneurship Policies through a Gender Lens, OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (pp. 82-84). OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/71c8f9c9-en.

Ahl, H., Marlow, S. (2018). Analysing entrepreneurial activity through a postfeminist perspective: A brave new world or the same old story?. In: P. Lewis, Y. Benschop, & R. Simpson (Ed.), Postfeminism and organization (pp. 141-159). London: Routledge.

Ahl, H. (2011). Politik för kvinnors företagande i Sverige och USA. In E. Blomberg, G. Hedlund & M. Wottle (Eds.), Kvinnors företagande – mål eller medel? (pp. 292-322). Stockholm: SNS Förlag

Ahl, H. (2004). Företagandets särskilda nytta (The specific benefit of entrepreneurship) In D. Ericsson (Ed.), Det oavsedda entreprenörskapet (pp. 108-122). Lund: Academia Adacta.

Andersson, Susanne & Berglund, Karin. (2012). Part I: Policies for Innovation. In S. Andersson, K. Berglund, E. Gunnarsson & E. Sundin (Eds.), Promoting Innovation: Policies, practices and procedures. Stockholm: Vinnova.

Andersson, Susanne; Berglund, Karin; Granat Thorslund, Jennie; Gunnarsson, Ewa & Sundin, Elisabeth. (2012). Introduction. In S. Andersson, K. Berglund, E. Gunnarsson & E. Sundin (Eds.), Promoting Innovation: Policies, practices and procedures. Stockholm: Vinnova.

Berglund, Karin. (2012). Entrepreneurship for Industrial Renewal. In E.
Segelod, K. Berglund, E. Bjurström, E. Dahlquist, L. Hallén & U. Johanson (Eds.), Studies in Industrial Renewal. Coping with changing contexts (pp. 309-316). Eskilstuna and Västerås: Mälardalen University Press.

Berglund, Karin & Granat Thorslund, Jennie. (2012). Innovative policies? Entrepreneurship and innovation policy from a gender perspective. In S. Andersson, K. Berglund, E. Gunnarsson & E. Sundin (Eds.), Promoting Innovation: Policies, practices and procedure. Stockholm: Vinnova.

Theses, books and reports

Andersson, Susanne; Berglund, Karin; Gunnarsson, Ewa & Sundin, Elisabeth. (Eds.). (2012). Promoting Innovation: Policies, practices and procedures. Stockholm: Vinnova.

Berglund, Karin och Johansson Anders W. (red.) (2008), Arenor för Entreprenörskap. Örebro: FSF Förlag

Pettersson, Katarina (2015). Två steg fram och ett tillbaka? En genusanalys av policy för kvinnors företagande i Norden, Info 0596, Stockholm: Tillväxtverket.

Sköld, Birgitta. (2015). Vad hände? Kvinnors företagande och de strukturella villkoren - en studie i spåren av den offentliga sektorns omvandling. Linköping: Linköping University.

Sköld, Birgitta. (2013). Strukturerna och företagandet: en longitudinell studie av kvinnors och mäns företagande i spåren av den offentliga sektorns omvandling. FiF-avhandling - Filosofiska fakulteten - Linköpings universitet, ISSN 1401-4637; 108.