ABSTRACT
Family firm performance has been a topic that has captured the interest of family business scholars for a long time. Women have traditionally played important roles within family firms. These roles range from those that are directly related to the business and its performance to "invisible roles". This chapter presents an empirical study of the relationship between family ownership and the percentage of women ownership in a firm, the relationship between the percentage of women ownership and the financial performance of the firm, and the moderating effects of cultural norms about participation of women in the workforce. Women play important roles within the family firm both in the family system and in the business system. Women can influence family firms through their roles as wives, mothers, and/or daughters. Ownership enables female members to have greater influence in the strategic direction of the firm. The chapter explores the effect of female ownership on the financial performance of a firm.
