Katrin Fischer

At any given moment, almost a quarter of the world’s population could be experiencing perimenopause or menopause, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms may range from severe hot flashes to intense brain fog to debilitating pain. The Mayo Clinic discovered that in the United States alone, menopause causes women an estimated $1.8 billion annually owing to missed working time. Although menopause may impact almost half of the world’s population, there is still little medical, organizational, or policy research to support women during this time. In this article, we focus specifically on the work-related challenges that perimenopausal and menopausal women face as they navigate the heights of their careers while undergoing significant hormonal and bodily changes.

Women entrepreneurs consistently raise far less investor funding than men. In this study, we consider how women’s use of gender-similar language may influence investor decisions on venture pitches. Contrary to theories of communicative style and gender, we find women do not apply linguistic styles traditionally attributed to women in crafting their pitches. Instead, women entrepreneurs use language similar to their male counterparts when pitching to investors. Consistent with gender role congruity theory, we found that a masculine linguistic style is generally more effective in pitching situations, with limitations. Overly masculine language had a negative impact for both male and female entrepreneurs. Our findings suggest women entrepreneurs have a clear understanding of the power of the spoken language and the impact of the words they use when pitching investors for funding.
•Contrary to communicative style theory, women do not use linguistic styles traditionally attributed to women when pitching.•Findings suggest women entrepreneurs seem to recognize that “words matter” and avoid the use of gendered language.•Both masculine and feminine linguistic styles in pitches had negative influences on investor interest in the venture.•One masculine linguistic style, inspirational language, did increase investor interest.

Essex Farm, in the town of Essex, New York, employs both traditional and innovative agricultural methods to support the environmentally friendly production of healthy foods, an innovative business model, and a variety of educational initiatives. Its owners, Mark and Kristin Kimball, have become leaders and role models in the movement to revive family farms across the country, revitalize small towns, and reinvent a sustainable food system in the face of climate change and environmental degradation. An experiment in sustainable agriculture, in food entrepreneurship, and in community building, Essex Farm raises important questions about the economic sustainability of the new food movement, and about the future of agriculture in general. The case describes this experiment and addresses key questions that arise when diversified organic farming is proposed as both a lifestyle and an alternative to large-scale industrial farming.