Babson is a partner on the Diana Project. Named after the goddess of the hunt, the Diana Project is a multiyear and multiuniversity study of female business owners and business growth activities. Two of the five leading female scholars who have written the Diana Project are key members of the Babson community, Patricia Greene, Provost, and Candida Brush, Entrepreneurship Division Chair and President's Chair in Entrepreneurship.

As entrepreneurship is central to economic growth around the world, the progress of women-owned businesses is vital for wealth creation, innovation, and economic advancement in all countries. The Diana Project investigates the apparent disconnect between opportunities and resources in equity funding for high growth women-owned businesses. The disparity between the number of women-owned businesses and the small share of equity capital they receive is a disadvantage not only to women, but also to investors who may be unaware of attractive equity investment opportunities. Equity investments fuel the growth and development of new ventures, yielding innovative solutions for consumers and businesses that may better society at large.

The Diana Project has two primary objectives: 

1. Demand Side – Women Seeking Financing.
To raise awareness and expectations of women business owners for the growth of their firms, to educate women business owners about the characteristics of equity-funded businesses, and to provide detailed information about how the equity funding process works.

2. Supply Side – The Venture Capital Industry.
To educate equity capital providers about opportunities for enhanced portfolio diversification and new investment possibilities through investment in women-owned businesses.

The Diana Project has established that women-led ventures in the United States are underrepresented in equity capital distribution and has documented that many explanations for why women lack the capital required to grow their ventures in the U.S. are myths. The next phase of the project, Diana International, puts a spotlight on high-growth, women-led ventures around the world. Cross-country comparisons of women business owners’ experiences in attempting to access growth capital are examined and documented by research partners in host countries to explore whether the situation documented by the Diana Project in the U.S. applies globally. Currently, more than 30 researchers from 20 countries are involved with Diana International. This team of global scholars presents significant research that can be used as an impetus and foundation for the implementation of policy, training, and resources that help advance the state of practice of women entrepreneurs.

Reports include:

Diana Project International: Research on Growth of Women-owned Businesses (2006)

Gatekeepers of Venture Growth: The Role of Women in the Venture Capital Industry (2004)

Women Business Owners and Equity Capital: The Myths Dispelled (2003)

Books include:

“Growth Oriented Women Entrepreneurs and Their Businesses: A Global Research Perspective” (2006)

“Women Entrepreneurs: Classics and New Directions” (2006)

“Clearing the Hurdles: Women Building High-Growth Businesses” (2004)

“Women Entrepreneurs, Their Ventures, and the Venture Capital Industry: An Annotated Bibliography” (2002)