This is an award under the Research Planning Grant program for women scientists and engineers. It is a project to study gender differences in small business ownership. The researcher will conduct qualitative fieldwork among 36 small firms and construct a sampling frame and pretest a survey instrument for a planned future survey of a representative sample of 1200-1400 small business owners in the Albany, NY, area. The focus of the research will be on gender differences in selection into small business careers and in the ways in which family-work conflicts are handled. This award will initiate research which should shed important light on sexual differences in small business entrepreneurship. This is a topic of considerable policy importance, insofar as it may lead to new information about the obstacles to small business success for women. In addition to the scientific gains and social importance of this research, this award will materially assist a promising young researcher to prepare for a larger project, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the national base of women scientists and engineers.
