Women and entrepreneurs : thirty years of research into women’s entrepreneurial motivation[Femmes et entrepreneurs : trente ans de recherches en motivation entrepreneuriale féminine]

Women's entrepreneurship has been extensively studied in relation to that of men. Can we, however, still speak of a single female entrepreneurship? The panorama of female entrepreneurship is complex, and different motivational profiles can coexist. In this article, we look at thirty years of research into women's entrepreneurial motivation. Our study identified three ideal types that appear regularly in the literature: the women entrepreneurs by necessity, the career women entrepreneurs (or those in transition to entrepreneurship), and women who are creating companies during motherhood (mompreneurs). We conclude that female entrepreneurship research should take into account the heterogeneity of women. Their motives to start a business cannot be studied without also looking at their relationship to the life-cycle of women and family.