For generations, daughters were often overlooked for succession in family businesses, with gender playing a decisive role in leadership choices. Males were traditionally favoured, and if daughters joined the family enterprise, they were typically relegated to lower-level tasks, far from the helm of leadership.
Daughters entered family businesses for varied reasons, including family loyalty, filling undesired roles, seeking flexible schedules, and enhancing job satisfaction. Despite these motivations, their paths to leadership were frequently obstructed.
However, a positive shift is underway. More women are gaining managerial experience and education, and the mentality towards female leadership in family businesses is evolving. Yet, some families still resist considering daughters as viable successors. In these cases, daughters often work harder to prove their capabilities and gain visibility, still battling discrimination and stereotyping rooted in societal biases.
Family dynamics and gender-specific roles profoundly influence the work environment within family businesses. Patterns of behaviour, value beliefs, and expectations within the family often seep into the professional realm, complicating the daughter’s role.
Why do some women still find themselves sidelined for leadership roles?
Protective instincts of parents can play a part, with parents wanting to shield their daughters from the pressures and problems of managing a business. Additionally, work-life balance concerns might deter daughters from seeking leadership positions. Mixed messages from parents—encouraging both family and business commitments—can also create confusion and conflict.
Fathers, in particular, may struggle to define their daughters' roles clearly, treating them as both business professionals and 'Daddy’s Girl' which can confuse daughters, who may find it hard to establish a professional identity separate from their familial role. This tension is exacerbated when the external world views the daughter as an adult, while the family still treats her as a child.
Even positive traits can become burdensome. Daughterly concern for the family and business, viewing parents as mentors, and a tendency to avoid conflict can hinder the daughter’s professional growth. These dynamics can also lead to sibling rivalry and family tensions, forcing daughters to choose between business hierarchy and family hierarchy.
Research has identified three primary roles daughters typically play in family businesses. The first is the “invisible,” often part of a large nuclear family and excluded from succession plans. This invisibility can allow daughters the flexibility to leave and return to the business.
The second role is the “anchor,” essential for business continuity, especially in families with few male members. Anchors are guided from a young age to work in the business, often with limited career alternatives, leading to ambivalence about their roles.
The third role is the “professional,” prevalent in mature family businesses with complex ownership structures. Professionals interact with the business on a formal level, contributing significantly to its operations.
An emerging role for women in family businesses is that of the entrepreneur, starting their own ventures and setting new precedents. As more women successfully launch family businesses, daughters are increasingly seen as potential successors.
Recognising the differences between men and women is crucial for addressing the unique challenges faced by daughters in family businesses. The environment of family enterprises, which values both private and professional aspects of life, can be particularly attractive to women and afford them more longer term career opportunities too.
For the next generation of women in family businesses, the recommendations are clear: pursue education and work experience outside the family business, only take over the business if truly passionate, compete on equal terms with men while respecting oneself as a woman, work diligently to achieve personal goals, and trust in one’s instinct
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