What is the position of women in francophone Belgian family businesses in 2012? At the request of the Family Business Institute, Nathalie Crutzen, Fabrice Pirnay and Zineb Aouni, of the University of Liège HEC-Management School, have endeavoured to answer this question and have published the results of their quantitative and qualitative study, which contributes to a better understanding of the involvement of women in the family business. 

No matter the area of socio-economic life, women are relatively little represented at the very top of organisations. Business is no exception to this rule and despite some progress having been recorded in recent years, the glass ceiling remains a reality and it is very rare to find women who become the head of a business company. That is true for the major groups and businesses, but are differences to be found amongst the family businesses which make up a large majority of our economic fabric, and what position has been reserved or attributed to women within these family businesses? It is to answer these questions, amongst others, that the Family Business Institute commissioned a study from the University of Liège. Entitled ‘The Place of Women in Francophone Belgian Family Businesses in 2012’, the latter has been carried out by Nathalie Crutzen, lecturer at the University of Liège HEC-Management School, Fabrice Pirnay, First Assistant and Director of the SME Research Centre, and Zineb Aouni, researcher at the SME Research Centre ⁽¹⁾.  

Multiple roles

Before tackling the quantitative and qualitative parts of their study, the authors review the roles women play in the family business, reminding us that this type of company mixes both business and family and that women are more associated with the latter than the former. It emerges from the literature that despite the growing involvement of women in a family business their role still remains quite informal. Or more exactly their roles, as women fulfil various functions, official or otherwise. In this study ‘a choice has been taken to focus on the women of the family who are shareholders, employees or working proprietors in the business or who are part of the family without holding a position or owning any capital stock within it. These women can occupy several ‘places’ in the family. They can be a (grand) mother; wife; (grand) daughter; sister; niece; daughter in law; sister in law, etc.’ Unsurprisingly, the main obstacles to women’s involvement stem from social and cultural norms which in some way reflect sexist stereotypes, still deeply rooted, which ‘are linked to a traditional view of ‘male-female’ roles.’ Nonetheless, whilst these stereotypes, or forms of discrimination according to some authors, prevent women being recognised within the business in a role other than that which men have a tendency to assign them, we can observe a growing involvement of women in family businesses where they can offer an undeniable plus.

(1) La place des femmes dans les entreprises familiales belges francophones en 2012, Nathalie Crutzen, Fabrice Pirnay et Zineb Aouni, Institut de l'Entreprise Familiale, 2012.