Executive Interviews: Interview with Deborah Kolb on Women Entrepreneurs
January 2008 - By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary

Deborah Kolb
Professor Deliotte Ellen Gabriel Professor for Women and leadership Faculty Affiliate,
Center for Gender in Organization Ph. D.,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

See above. It is not just a matter of time, but deliberate efforts that organizations take to dealwith second generation gender issues. Prime among these is the ability of bothmen and women to be able to integrate their work and family lives.

• How good are women as entrepreneurs and managers?Women seem to be doing fairly OK as managers. But definitely not as entrepreneurs. We hardly get to see very successful women entrepreneurs at the global stage. Why do you think women are good as managers (although this population itself isn't that encouraging) and not as entrepreneurs?
  In the US, I don't have the actual specifics, but women comprise a significant proportion of entrepreneurs some 40% of businesses aremore than 50%women owned. However, these tend to be smaller and not as visible. Part of the problem is access to venture funds only 4.5%of these funds have gone to women in theUS. There are obviously some issues regarding how venture capitalist view women entrepreneurs their business and their capacity to fund them. We are currently doing some work on this topic and that women have to overcome certain presumptions about them and their businesses.

• Women today have more opportunities than ever, to pursue desired life goals. Yet, we see many of them walk away from their dreams. When women enter the professional arena or start families, they are often forced to see that "ambition and passion for recognition" is unwomanly.
  This is a perfect example of how stereotypes can explain a lack of ambition. It sets up a double bind to have ambition is unwomanly but you can't succeed if you lack ambition. The challenge for women is to figure out how to negotiate around these kinds of double binds.

• Do women lack ambition? (Many also associate ambition with egotism or selfishness). How can women become ambitious about ambition including cultivating connections with people, who have the power to advance their work and publicly praise their successes?
  Women need goodmentors and good role models. What we know is that the more women there are in leadership the more likely it is that other women will see their way to succeed.

• Many approaches have been suggested to get rid of gender inequality. However, most of them seem to address the symptoms, rather than the sources.What do you think are the bestways to address the sources of gender inequality? What can be the steps to root out sources of gender discrimination and score possible wins on this front?
  Organizations need to be truly committed to moving women into leadership and to have that commitment there needs to be a clear business case. For many companies, they are losing talent and for others their customers and clients are demanding more diversity at the top. So the first step is to make the business case. The second is to reach out and help potential women leaders develop the skills and relationships they need to move into leadership. Women generally do not get good feedback and are not as well networked as their male colleagues. In our executive development programs, this is what we try to help the women do. Then we also try to help their organizations understand some of the second-generation issues that might be impeding women (and also some) men.

1. ICMR Women Entrepreneurs Case Studies
2. ICMR Case Collection
3. Case Study Volumes