Abstract
The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of barriers to women’s leadership in the family business in terms of invisibility, the glass ceiling effect, and sexism. We conduct eight semi-structured interviews with women holding leading managerial roles in family businesses in Mexico to identify the factors that impede/facilitate their involvement. We apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in order to determine how these factors support/constrain women in their roles. We find that some factors and circumstances are critical for women to achieve an important leadership role in the family business. These factors entail levels of education and experience, the extent to which women participate in strategic decision making and governance of the firm, as well as the support of the company’s founder and other family members for these women’s efficacy and self-esteem. These results challenge some of the extant findings in the literature, thus enriching the current perspectives on the leadership role of women in family firms. Moreover, this research is the first attempt to analyze impediments to women under the TPB perspective as well as one of the few studies conducted on the topic in Latin America, specifically in Mexico.
Highlights
The first belief we considered was the women’s desire to lead the family business, which was influenced by remuneration, recognition, and flexible working arrangements
Our results indicate that the women received a fair salary, and their effort was recognized and acknowledged
These results provide no support of invisibility, widely documented in terms of remuneration and recognition received by women working for the family enterprises
Summary
Recognition of women in the leadership of family firms is increasing and has been evidenced by the rising proportion of female managers in family businesses (Barrett and Moores 2009; Humphreys 2013). In Latin America, 90 percent of all enterprises are family owned or controlled (Borkowski 2001; Carraher 2005; TrevinyoRodríguez 2009, 2010), with many being led by women. A study by The Economist (2004) estimates that up to 95 percent of businesses in Mexico are family owned and led, providing a foundation of the country’s economy. This creates a large scope for leadership opportunities available to female family members. There is a considerable number of factors impeding women in Mexico reaching leading roles in family firms
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