Madam CJ Walker Colloquium:
Stay, Start, or Step Aside? Next-Generation Women and the Family Business Decision
Tu., Feb. 3 • 5 p.m. • WB 144
This talk explores the choices next-generation women face in family businesses: joining the family firm, pursuing entrepreneurship, or building careers elsewhere. Drawing on research and real-world experience, it examines how decisions are shaped by opportunity, family expectations, organizational culture, and questions of legitimacy. The presentation highlights why women’s entry—and influence—matter for family firm performance, innovation, and long-term continuity, while also addressing barriers to success and conditions for thriving. Participants will leave with a clear framework for understanding women’s pathways in family enterprise and practical insights for families, educators, and next-gen leaders.
Isabel C. Botero, PhD, is the George E. and Mary Lee Fischer Chair in Family Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Louisville. Her research explores the preparation of next-generation members in business families, strategic communication processes, governance, and entrepreneurship within family enterprises. Her work has been widely published in leading family business, management, and communication journals and books.
ISPE’s Madam CJ Walker Colloquium is an annual event which explores the relevance of entrepreneurship and free enterprise for the past, present, and future of historically marginalized groups.
Presented by the Institute for the Study of Political Economy (ISPE). ISPE approaches the study of political economy as an analysis of governance. We examine what it means to have good public and private governance. We analyze which institutions and institutional rules are likely to lead to good governance, and how governance – good and bad — impacts outcomes. We are particularly interested in wealth and income, economic growth, health, freedom and liberty, and quality of life in the American Midwest. In order to positively impact outcomes, we communicate the lessons learned from rigorous academic analysis to students, citizens at large, private organization leadership, and elected and appointed officials.
Upcoming ISPE Speakers:
Th., Feb. 26 • 5 p.m. • TC 121: Menard Speaker Series: Dr. Art Carden, Samford University
The Obvious and Simple System of Natural Liberty: Its Causes and Consequences
Tu., March 17 • 5 p.m. • WB 144: Menard Speaker Series: Dr. David Henderson, Naval Postgraduate School
How Economists Helped End the Draft
Th., April 2 • 5 p.m. • AJ 175: Menard Speaker Series: Vernon Smith, 2002 Nobel Laureate
Theory of Society