Representatives from across the globe presented their papers on a range of relevant topics, which followed the theme of the event - winning papers placed exemplary focus on how women entrepreneurs are influencing their ecosystems, and how ecosystem and contextual influences create gender gaps and gender biases.
Best Paper Award Winners
Empirical Winner
“Cross-Country Gender Gaps in Perceived Start-up Ease: Second-Order Effects of Labor Market Segregation,” by Vartuhi Tonoyan, Robert Strohmeyer, and Jennifer Jennings
Empirical Runner-Up
“Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Conditions & National Level Entrepreneurial Activity: Ten Year Panel Study of GEM,” by Diana Hechavarria and Amy Ingram
Conceptual Winner
“The Importance of Resilience in the Career of Entrepreneurship for Minorities and Women,” by Maria V. Lugo and Lois Shelton
Conceptual Runner-Up
“Entrepreneurship in Headscarves: Iranian Female Entrepreneurs, Network Behavior and New Venturing,” by Nastaran Simarasl and Tim Munyon
Junior Scholar Winner
“Entrepreneurial Role Models: An Integrated Framework from a Constructionist Perspective,” by Janice Byrne and Maria Cristina Diaz-Garcia
Junior Scholar Runner-Up
“Family Related Employment Interruptions and Self Employment of Women: Does Policy Matter?” by Olga Suprinovic, Rosemarie Kay, and Stefan Schneck
Hosts and co-chairs of the event, Babson Professors Candida Brush and Patricia Greene, and Executive Director of Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, Susan Duffy, invited papers that broadly fit within the overarching theme of ‘Women Entrepreneurs in Ecosystems.’
Babson President Kerry Healey shared that “as the first female president of the world’s recognized leader in entrepreneurship education – and one of the only institutions focused on developing and supporting female entrepreneurs – it is exciting, and fitting to be hosting this event…an incredible celebration of the impact [the Diana Project] research and advocacy has had on behalf of women entrepreneurs.”
The plenary session featured Diana Project founders, Professors Candida Brush, Patricia Greene, Nancy Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, and Myra Hart in an interactive session moderated by CWEL’s Duffy, which focused on how the Diana Project has created a new model of collaborative publishing.
The event convened academics from 18 different countries. It was held in the United States for the first time in program history. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1GA2aYR
About The Diana International Research Conference
The Diana Research Project, established in 1999 by Professors Brush, Carter, Gatewood, Greene, and Hart - in partnership with ESBRI, Stockholm - has led the research agenda in women’s entrepreneurship across continents, cultures, and contexts. Over the years, Diana conferences have brought together scholars from 18 different countries, providing a platform to share a global research agenda dedicated to asking and answering questions about women entrepreneurs and their growth-oriented businesses. For the first time, the 2015 Diana International Conference was held in the U.S. at Babson College, by co-chairs of the event, Babson College Professors Candida Brush, Patricia Greene, and Susan Duffy. The 8th annual conference was sponsored by Babson’s Arthur M. Blank Center and The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL).
The next Diana International Research Conference will be held in Bodo, Norway, in June 2016.
About Babson College
Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®. The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society—while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. Visit www.babson.edu.