Guest blog by Dr. Julia Fursova, Assistant Professor, Renaissance College, Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies Program, UNB

I am excited to introduce ‘Women and Non-Binary Leadership in Social Enterprise’ – a collaborative community-based research project that examines the experiences of women and non-binary founders in the social enterprise ecosystem in Atlantic Canada, focusing primarily on New Brunswick. My name is Dr. Julia Fursova, a researcher and professor in the Leadership Studies program at Renaissance College, UNB. This project is a collaboration with Pond-Deshpande Centre and has been supported by the vibrant team of research assistants graduating from the BPhil Program in Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies: Ryca McCullough, Ellie Petersen, and Hillary Russell.

Together, we are exploring how emerging social enterprise leaders navigate the complexities of achieving financial viability while pursuing their commitments to a greater good.

Social enterprises (SEs) are emerging forms of businesses that combine goals of social, financial, and/or environmental sustainability while seeking social and ecological transformation (Ryder & Vogeley, 2017). They can have non-profit or for-profit organizational status. Yet, unlike traditional business firms, SEs are committed to the maximization of public benefit instead of solely private profit.

Who took part

Since August 2024, our team has interviewed 20 founders representing 23 social enterprises, including traditional charities, non-profits, and mission-driven for-profit ventures. The spectrum of the 23 social enterprises is represented in the image below, with 4 squarely identifying as social enterprise, 5 as charities, 7 charities with market-based revenue and 7 mission-driven for-profit ventures.

Half of the social enterprises participating in the research are at their ‘emerging’ stage and are less than 5 years old. Another half are more established social enterprises with over 5 years in existence. We use a visual metaphor of a ‘seed’ for social enterprises in their early ‘ideation’ stage. They may not be formally registered as they make important decisions about their goals, mission, and organizational structure. The formalization of organizational structure often signifies that they have progressed into the ‘sprouting’ stage of their development.

During their ‘sprouting’ stage, approximately 3-5 years in existence, SEs are more established, formally registered, and generate a revenue, often from multiple sources. The ‘sprouting’ stage is followed by a ‘seedling’ stage of more established SEs over five years. They usually have a steady revenue stream, an established clientele base, and have built a community around them.

It is our hope that this research will help nurture these seeds, sprouts and seedlings so that they will mature into a thriving forest as a part of renewed, regenerative economy in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Behind every SE there are strong and resilient individuals who are committed to doing things differently and with a purpose. Our participants come from all walks of life and bring a wealth of diversity of experiences and backgrounds.

Nineteen participants responded to socio-demographic questionnaire about their background and lived experiences:

• Of them, 18 participants identified as women, and one as non-binary.
• 10 participants described themselves as ‘White’, ‘Caucasian’ or ‘English’.
• 5 participants described their race and ethnicity as ‘Black’, two identified as ‘First Nations’ and one as ‘Asian’.

The infographic below represents a diversity of lived experiences among social enterprise founders.

Collaborative Knowledge Co-Creation

As we are making sense of the data collected, we invite research participants to a collaborative data analysis, known as ‘data party’. In the upcoming blog post series, we will be sharing our emerging research findings, participants responses to and feedback on the emerging themes, and further ideas about how best to support women and non-binary leaders in social enterprise.