Genre et succession dans les PME familiales marocaines

In Morocco, as elsewhere, the economic contribution of family SMEs is important, but the sustainability of these businesses depends on the choice of successor. Female successors are still few in number compared to men, and normative expectations remain linked to the characteristics of masculinity rather than those of femininity. In Morocco, state policies supporting the empowerment of women in the economic and social spheres have contributed positively to improving women?s situation, but in the field of business, only 10 percent of entrepreneurs are women, with socio-cultural obstacles limiting their access to managerial positions within family SMEs. Currently, the evolution of social relationships within families and the structure of careers is shaping ways of ?doing gender? in business and helping to legitimate women taking over the family business. But we still know very little about the way in which women use femininity in the very particular context of the succession of Moroccan family SMEs. This essential theme is the subject of our qualitative study, which analyzes four case studies of Moroccan family SMEs in the Souss region. The study?s main objective is to explore the effect of gender, as a social construct, on female successors of Moroccan family SMEs.