Women and Family Businesses. When Women Are Left Only Minor Roles

The number of women involved in the ownership, management and direction of family businesses has been growing in the last few years. However, women’s presence has been sometimes described as “invisible”, without influence in decision-making and women’s efforts are not always properly recognized and rewarded in terms of job titles and salaries. Women in this type of situation have a marginal role and they are still quite numerous. This paper aims to identify some typical women’s profiles sharing a minor role in their family firms. These profiles are described using three variables: women’s role in the family firm; activities they actually carry out in the family firm; the type of remuneration they received. Each profile is outlined drawing both from the literature on this subject, as well as from interviews with women involved in their family firms with different roles and responsibilities. Interviewed women are all involved in small and medium-sized firms located in Italy, in the Marche Region. Three women’s profiles are described: completely invisible women, figurehead women and manager women. They show possible roles women can play within their family firms when the leader is a man. Moreover, they underline that women’s minor role in the family firms is not always the result of stereotyping and gender discrimination. Women in fact are not always “victims” and forced to operate in a secondary position. The socio-cultural context plays a very important role but women’s personal reasons are equally important, as they lead women to accept a certain profile rather than another.