Family business has always liked to think of itself as a meritocracy of blood and belonging. Ownership, involvement and eventually leadership are supposed to flow naturally through the generations. Yet for many women born into these enterprises, that flow has a well documented habit of stopping just short of the top job. The glass ceiling, a phrase coined for the corporate world, turns out to describe something distinctly familiar in the family business world too. What Do We

There is a particular kind of pressure that comes with inheriting a family business as a daughter. It is not the pressure of acquisition or ambition. It is something quieter, more complex, and considerably harder to talk about. It is the pressure of proximity: of taking over something that is not just a commercial enterprise but a life's work, a source of identity, and in many cases the thing that shaped your entire childhood, for someone who is still in the room. Most leader

Family Business United has announced the launch of a major research initiative entitled "Women in Family Business – A Comprehensive Role Map", designed to provide one of the most detailed examinations ever undertaken into the roles women play within family firms. The study seeks to identify, document and better understand the diverse range of positions occupied by women in family businesses, from ownership and leadership roles to governance responsibilities and the often over

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. D