SCHOOL EMLV Business School De Vinci Higher Education THE BENEFITS OF HAVING INCUBATORS JUST FOR WOMEN
COUNTRY France
ew research from EMLV suggests that women-only incubators can address many of the challenges
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facing female entrepreneurs. Such challenges include those based on gender stereotypes, such as a lack of self‑confidence, as well as those relating to work-life balance, with women more likely than men to experience conflicts between the management of their family life and entrepreneurial pursuits. In the research, the type of group mentoring found in women-only incubators was found to be beneficial for female entrepreneurs’ self-belief through role modelling, for example. The incubators were also seen as safe spaces in which women felt better able to assert themselves through self-exploration, reflection and expression. In instances where women had received negative reactions from their families about their new ventures, the groups also provided psychological support. The findings showcase the advantages of offering gender-specific entrepreneurial support to help to topple the continuing imbalances found in the entrepreneurial space. The research was carried out by professor and associate dean for research at EMLV Pascale Bueno Merino, in collaboration with EM Normandie assistant professor Marie-Hélène Duchemin. EB
IRAQ PROGRAMME SEEKS TO FOSTER FEMALE LEADERSHIP
independent executive mentor Safiyeh Salehi Mobarakeh. A total of 50 women from Iraq’s Ministry of Interior have so far joined the programme which, alongside raising awareness of the importance of female leadership in the security sector, also provides a safe space for dialogue on the challenges facing women in management positions. The first part of the course took place in September and the feedback has already been good: “I’m mind- blown by how these women are so dedicated to driving positive change for their country. One participant promised in her personal leadership statement that she would go back to work as a butterfly spreading love,” Takkenberg enthused. The second instalment will take place in December, consisting of four days of instruction and two networking events. It has been financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and developed by the European Union Advisory Mission in Iraq in conjunction with ECWO. TBD
SCHOOL Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University
COUNTRY Netherlands
he Erasmus Centre for Women in Organisations (ECWO) at Rotterdam
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School of Management (RSM) is facilitating a programme aimed at empowering women to assume leadership roles and increase their participation in Iraq’s government. “Female leadership is needed to help address the challenges Iraq is facing, to establish sustainable peace, stability and safety,” said Hanneke Takkenberg, an RSM professor of management education who focuses on women in business. Takkenberg is teaching the course alongside ECWO assistant director Dorothy Grandia and
8 Business Impact • ISSUE 4 • 2024
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