Entrepreneurship and Gender Special Interest Group
Acronym: GENSIG
Short content and objectives
Women entrepreneurs around the world make significant contributions to economic growth and poverty reduction. Despite research showing that gender makes a difference regarding business strategies, performance, and growth, entrepreneurship is still a very gendered field. Women face challenges that their male counterparts do not and even the most experienced growth-oriented female entrepreneurs cannot escape the influence of the prevailing masculine norms and gender order. Researchers interested in gender and entrepreneurship need places to meet and share their experiences and research, and we want the ECSB GENSIG to be one of these places for gender and entrepreneurship researchers in Europe.
GENSIG objectives are:
- To create a European-focused scholarly platform for research on the influence of gender upon entrepreneurship
- To enable the exchange of knowledge among scholars, entrepreneurs, small business owners, policymakers, and business advisors interested in gender and entrepreneurship
- To offer opportunities for career progression through publications and mentoring
- To enhance the academic experience at the Gender and Entrepreneurship Track at ECSB / RENT conference
GENSIG ambition is to create an open research community where important theoretical, empirical, and practical questions can be explored. We want to help scholars legitimise research on gender and entrepreneurship as an important area of study.
Planned activities
GENSIG plans to organise various academic events and activities over the next three years:
- Regular online and in person seminars
- Conference / writing retreats for publication support for young scholars
- Organize the track on Gender and Entrepreneurship at the RENT conference
- AGM for the SIG at the RENT conference
- Initiating special issues in various journals around gender and entrepreneurship
GENSIG is supported by International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, whereby Editor in Chief, Prof. Helle Neergaard is offering pre-submission advice on potential publications.
Leadership and membership
Chair: Natalia Vershinina (Audencia Business School)
Professor Natalia Vershinina has been a long standing participant in and contributor to the RENT Conference. Natalia is a leading expert in family business and migrant entrepreneurship and, in particular, their gender relations. She has worked for 20 years in England and is now a Full Professor in Entrepreneurship at Audencia, Nantes, France. She regularly organises activities that engage communities and that develop Early Career Researchers across places and disciplines. She is also a co-editor of International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research (IJEBR) , associate editor for entrepreneurship section of Journal of Business Research (JBR) and associate editor of Entrepreneurship & Regional Development (ERD). (Email: nvershinina@audencia.com)
Co-chair: Saskia Stoker (University for Applied Sciences Amsterdam)
Saskia Stoker is a lead researcher developing a research stream around diversity in family business at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and a regular participant in the RENT Conference. She completed her PhD in Gender & Entrepreneurship at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2025. Her PhD-research explored gender and entrepreneurship, currently her focus is on diversity in family businesses. She is a member of the ISBE GENSIG as well, and part of the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. (Email: s.stoker@hva.nl)
Co-chair: Maud van Merriënboer (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Maud van Merriënboer is a postdoctoral researcher at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a regular participant in the RENT Conference. She completed her PhD in Entrepreneurship at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2025. Her research explores inclusive entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on how identity markers such as gender, ethnicity, race, and migration shape entrepreneurial opportunities. She is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. (Email: vanmerrienboer@rsm.nl)
The GENSIG Committee
Natalia Vershinina, Audencia Business School, France
Saskia Stoker, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Maud van Merriënboer, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Gry Agnete Alsos, Nord University Business School, Norway
Helle Neergaard, Aarhus University, Denmark
Sally Jones, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Sibel Ozasir Kacar, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Caroline Essers, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Current GENSIG members
The list of current SIG members is maintained by the SIG chair and will be sent to all SIG members.
How to become a member of the Entrepreneurship and Gender Special Interest Group (GENSIG)?
Gender and Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group (GENSIG) of the ECSB welcomes both ECSB members and non-members. Joining the future activities of the SIG requires a valid ECSB membership. If you do not have a valid membership, you have 9 months to register as an ECSB member. This can be done at https://ecsb.org/join-ecsb/. You can also join the ECSB by attending the RENT or 3E conferences.
If you are interested in being a member of the GENSIG please fill in the online form via the link below: