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The Complex Hues of Entrepreneurial Identity Amongst Women Owning Accounting Firms

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Indian Women as Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Accounting firms in India are still largely male-dominated, and women are particularly under-represented in senior roles as partners, principals, and associates. However, there is a perceptible change with more and more women now pursuing an education in accountancy and aspiring to start off accounting firms of their own. In-depth interviews of women entrepreneurs running micro, small-sized and family-owned accounting firms in Chennai in south India reveal that women as entrepreneurs need to grapple with multiple identities in order to manage their business performance and family responsibilities. There seems to be a complex interplay of multiple identities including gender, caste, entrepreneurship orientation etc., with a new social identity emerging alongside the more traditional one.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Pseudonyms have been used to maintain confidentiality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNE Business School, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, New South Wales, Australia

    Sujana Adapa & Alison Sheridan

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  1. Sujana Adapa
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  2. Alison Sheridan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. New Delhi, India

    Payal Kumar

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© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

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Adapa, S., Sheridan, A. (2016). The Complex Hues of Entrepreneurial Identity Amongst Women Owning Accounting Firms. In: Kumar, P. (eds) Indian Women as Entrepreneurs. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60259-6_2

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