Prof. Maura Mcadam

I am renowned internationally for my pioneering work in women’s entrepreneurship and family business leadership. The interpretive foundation for my research is in critical entrepreneurship theory. I have made serious and lasting theoretical and methodological contributions because of my exploration of the influence of gender and diversity upon entrepreneurial behaviour spanning more than 20 years. Ranked in the top 2% of scientists in the world for research impact for the last five years, I am a globally recognised scholar in entrepreneurship, with particular expertise in the influence of gender on women's entrepreneurship, high-technology business incubation, and family business.

Before moving into academia, I spent years working in industry — experience that still shapes how I navigate complex professional environments today. I've also taught across a range of disciplines, which has given me a practical, cross-disciplinary approach to teaching. Over 20 years, I've built research networks across the UK, Ireland, the EU, New Zealand, the US, and the Middle East — working closely with 50+ researchers and 200+ entrepreneurs, and managing a €1 million European Commission-funded research project on gender equality and entrepreneurial ecosystems (2019–2023).

My academic outputs include 70+ journal articles, 9 book chapters, 4 books, and 100+ conference papers, which together have had significant academic impact (9,500 citations; h-index = 43; i10-index = 71) and have also been featured in non-academic media outlets, including The Conversation, Forbes, L'Express, Silicon Republic, The Irish Times, and Irish Tech News. In addition, I have authored the academic books Female Entrepreneurship and Global Women's Entrepreneurship, co-authored Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Women and Global Entrepreneurship: Contextualising Everyday Experiences, and written my first trade book, Permission Granted: A Call-to-Action Playbook for Women Entrepreneurs.

I've received several research awards, including the 2023 DCU President's Award for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and I'm a Fellow of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) and an Invited Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).