Value Creation Through Women’s Entrepreneurship

handana Sheikh and her co-authors argue that, although evaluation of entrepreneurial activity in terms of financial performance, wealth creation, and firm survival is important, it often results in a one-sided analysis in which entrepreneurship is evaluated and appraised solely in monetary terms, without reference to its social impact and other types of value. They suggest that such approaches limit the contribution of entrepreneurial activity that is initiated by disadvantaged and marginalized groups, even though these groups often create significant value beyondfinancial value. They argue that, while women entrepreneurs are often labelled as ‘underperformers’ in business because of their businesses’ low rate of growth and low success rates, these criteria are those that society expects women to meet, not those that women expect or want to meet. Hence, one must look beyond standard measures of performance and success and focus on what success and performance means to the woman entrepreneur. Their study presents narratives from two women entrepreneurs that highlight the unique ways in which they create value and contribute to their economies and societies