Företagande som strategi: -Frihet kostar trygghet, det måste man kunna leva med

Sammanfattning: Over the last decade the conversation on entrepreneurship has been both worldwide and intense. In Sweden, as in many other countries, this conversation has also concerned women’s entrepreneurship. Parallel with this conversation has been the debate on women in leading position in large corporations. This thesis aims to find out why and how women use entrepreneurship to handle existing conditions in life (such as the hardship of combining a traditional career with a traditional family life) and to create new conditions that suit them better. It presents, in interviews, the experience of twelve female entrepreneurs and analyzes these experiences from a number of perspectives; institutional theory, organizational theory, stress and coping theory, gender theory, social constructivist theory and social psychology. The thesis discusses women’s entrepreneurship, owning and leading a business, and women’s low representation in leading positions in since long established organizations.