How Entrepreneurs Can Be Wary And Critical Of Encouraging...

1 a) What sort of people start businesses, and what does the typical start-up look like? 1b) In your view, should we as a society be wary and critical of encouraging business start-up? Entrepreneurs start businesses. The depiction of entrepreneurs in the media often differs to the reality of who they actually are. Most people would describe entrepreneurs as â€Å"heroes who stand alone† or someone who is â€Å"very special†, (Shane, 2009, p.40). This isn’t actually the case, as the common entrepreneur isn’t necessarily someone who starts a huge conglomerate. A typical entrepreneur is instead likely to be a white male in his forties. (Shane, 2009, p.40). The standard business start-ups are extremely ordinary (Shane, 2009, p.64): they are not†¦show more content†¦A recent study has shown that men have engaged in twice the amount of entrepreneurial activity as women: 12.2% of men in the UK in comparison to only 6% of females (Hart, et al. 2014, p.23). I am largely against the notion that women should have less of a chance of becoming a successful entrepreneur. The reason that gender inequality in the business world is such an issue is, because, over the last decade, women’s entrepreneurship has finally begun to become recognised as the source of economic growth that had previously been disregarded. Women entrepreneurs are able to create new jobs for others as well as themselves, whilst providing society with a more in-depth set of solutions to the problems faced in the business word (OCED, 2004, p.5). And yet, statistics still show that men are more likely to be entrepreneurs. One of the main barriers women face are the cultural values which shape societal gender roles, particularly in terms of occupations that can be considered appropriate for men and women (Shinnar, Giacomin, Janssen, 2012, p.486). It is categorically unjust that someone should have less of an opportunity purely down to their gender, and something I can’t comprehend being prevalent in today’s modern era. However, this doesn’t alter the fact that this is reality. Consequently, more policies need to be put in pla ce to further increase the level of