Purpose Studies on women’s entrepreneurship in Morocco are scarce, despite the potential of women for the country’s economy. This research takes place in a socio-cultural environment searching for a compromise between tradition and modernity. Families occupy a prominent place in Morocco, directly influencing women’s activities. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of family in Moroccan women’s entrepreneurial success. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research is based on 60 interviews with women entrepreneurs in Morocco, including women business owners, women professionals and also women co-operators who have not been documented until now, due to data accessibility. It is diversified in terms of personal, family and professional characteristics. The analysis uses an intersectionality framework taking gender and social class into consideration. Findings The results highlight three categories of women entrepreneur: the “elite”, the “self-made women” and the “co-operators”. Each category is characterised by specific familial and professional realities, underpinned by differentiated dynamics in terms of gender and social class. Practical implications The study, from a practical point of view, contributes to a better understanding of the differentiated realities encountered in terms of women’s entrepreneurship, in the Moroccan context. Originality/value Studies in developing countries tend to consider women entrepreneurs as a homogeneous group. This research highlights the fact that family support, women entrepreneurs’ practices and their role in entrepreneurial success depend on the background situations in terms of gender and social class. It also contributes to the entrepreneurial success field, revealing different definitions and perceptions of success among women entrepreneurs.

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Les recherches menées sur les femmes entrepreneures demeurent rares dans le monde francophone, alors que ces dernières années ont vu une prolifération d'actions et de mesures en faveur du développement de l'entrepreneuriat féminin. Cette recherche vise donc à remédier partiellement à ce décalage, en proposant un état des lieux de la place des femmes à la direction des PME françaises de 10 à 250 salariés. Les résultats de cette recherche quantitative menée auprès de 483 dirigeants de PME permettent de mettre en évidence les particularités (ou similitudes) des dirigeantes en matière d'objectifs, de mode de management et d'insertion dans les réseaux et instances professionnelles. Une discussion des résultats permettra de montrer à la fois combien les résultats des études anglophones et francophones peuvent être tantôt confortés-tantôt relativisés-par nos observations, et combien il peut être important d'introduire de nouvelles questions dans l'agenda de recherche.

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In a country like Lebanon, where the participation rate of women in the labor force is low, around 24 % in 2014 [1], women social entrepreneurs try to alleviate this problem by targeting Low-skilled women. Our exploratory study aims to identify the motivations of six women social entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs perceive that low-skilled women need to be reintegrated into society and suffer from gender discrimination at hiring in Lebanon. They also have personal experience that has sparked their interest in the employment of low-skilled women. Interactions with marginalized women and gender discrimination lived throughout their personal and professional lives are also considered as important motivators. Finally, women social entrepreneurs point out that working for the professional integration of low-skilled women gives them personal satisfaction while taking a limited risk. Our qualitative exploratory study was supplemented by a quantitative study among fifty-seven low-skilled women to ascertain the motivations of the women social entrepreneurs who employ them. The results seem to confirm the majority of motivations reported by social women entrepreneurs especially in term of personal satisfaction.