Women Entrepreneurs: How Outsider Status Can Lead to Better Business Practices

Published: Feb. 18, 2011, 8 p.m.

In many ways, women continue to be perceived as outsiders in the world of business. Studies show that minority women entrepreneurs are even further regarded as outsiders. Through fascinating research, detailed in her new book, Dr. Mary Godwyn, a professor at Babson College — the leading university for entrepreneurship in America — shares the stories of many women entrepreneurs who defy standard business expectations in favor of their own values and beliefs. As a result, many of them have created unique and profitable business models in ways that would typically be looked down up on. Some of them pay significantly higher salaries and offer better working conditions and policies for their employees in locales where they could do far less because labor laws are not as protective of workers. Even with these concessions, some of them make millions. Listen in as Dr. Mary Godwyn explains what she learned about unconventional success from these courageous, “outsider” women who have made it big in business on their own terms.