WICED – Women’s International Centre for Economic Development – was a £5.3m initiative established to boost entrepreneurship and economic participation among women. Both a provider and an innovator of services for women, WICED helps promote economic independence through education and entrepreneurship, empowering women through their personal and social development.
As part of the ongoing WICED programme, we invited a global panel of gender experts to share knowledge and ideas towards our vision. The result of that initiative became our building – 54 St James Street. Today, 54 St James Street is one of the largest dedicated facilities for women’s economic development in the world.
We continue to host an International Research Hub through WICED, bringing together published research, existing knowledge and established best practice to guide our services, shape our policies and influence decision makers at all levels.
Our panel
WICED’s expert panel represents leading thinkers and researchers with a wide range of expertise.
Professor Alison Price (WICED Chair)
Alison is currently Director of Educator Development at the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) and has published widely on enterprise education and small business development. Past roles include the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entrepreneurial programme at Sloan Management School, a role as Head of Enterprise Education at Leeds Metropolitan University and academic leadership for Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Dr Haya Al-Dajani
Haya Al-Dajani is presently a lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management at the University of East Anglia where she founded and chairs the Women, Research and Enterprise Forum (WREF). In 1994, she co-founded the Middle East Centre for Human Studies in Amman and her research currently focuses on the inter-relationship between women’s empowerment and enterprise engagement.
Dr Naomi Birdthistle
Naomi Birdthistle is the Director for the MBS in International Entrepreneurship Management at the University of Limerick. Among a wide range of other responsibilities, she is also a visiting professor to Helsinki School of Economics on the area of Entrepreneurship in the Global Economy and vice-chair of Ireland’s Network of Teachers and Researchers of Entrepreneurship (INTRE).
Dr Patrice Braun
Patrice Braun is Deputy Director and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Innovation & Competitiveness (CRIC) at the University of Ballarat. She is also the Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Women & Technology, and her work focuses on sustainable regional development, especially the adoption of green community practices and green entrepreneurship.
Professor Tom Cannon
Tom Cannon is Professor of Strategic Development at the University of Liverpool Management School. He holds Visiting Professorships in Britain, the USA and Asia as well as non-executive Directorships in several UK companies. He maintains strong links with policy makers across the world and his views on management, business and economic issues are reported frequently on TV and radio.
Professor Sara Carter
Sara Carter is Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Associate Dean University of Strathclyde Business School. She holds a Visiting Professorship, and has published extensively on her work spanning a wide range of entrepreneurial areas. In 2008 Sara was awarded an OBE for services to women entrepreneurs.
Professor Patricia Greene
Patricia Greene is the F.W. Olin Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurship at Babson College where she formerly served as Provost (2006-2008) and Dean of the Undergraduate School (2003-2006). She is a founding member of the Diana Project, a research group focusing on women and the venture capital industry. Her work has been published in numerous national and international academic journals.
Professor Colette Henry
Colette Henry is Editor of the International Journal of Gender & Entrepreneurship (IJGE) and Adjunct Professor at Tromsø University Business School, Norway and has held a wide range of prestigious academic roles. She has published widely on the topics of entrepreneurship education and training, programme evaluation, gender, the creative industries and women and veterinary business.
Professor Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes is a Professor at the University of Alberta in the Department of Strategic Management and Organisation (School of Business) and the Department of Sociology (Faculty of Arts). Her research and teaching addresses the changing economic and family roles of women, and she has published extensively on issues of gender, organisations and economic change.
Dr. Alena Krížková
Alena Krížková is a senior researcher and a head of Gender & Sociology Department at the Institute of Sociology at the Czech Academy of Sciences. Alena also provides expertise on gender equality to the European Commission and has written extensively, including the book ‘Life Strategies of Women and Men in the management of Entrepreneurship’.
Professor Susan Marlow
Susan Marlow FRSA, is Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nottingham Hayden Green Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. As well holding the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, she is an Editor of the International Small Business Journal and Fellow of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. She is a regular contributor to the BBC.
Professor Helle Neergaard
Helle Neergaard received her Ph.D. in international business in 1999 for her dissertation titled “Networks as Vehicles of Internationalisation” from the Aarhus School of Business. She is a very active researcher and a member of the board of European Council of Small Business. She also sits on the board of the Danish Women’s Museum.
Professor Teresa Nelson
Teresa Nelson holds the Elizabeth J. McCandless Professor of Entrepreneurship Chair and is Director of the School of Management’s Entrepreneurship Program. She has founded two businesses and has been engaged for more than a decade with global business issues. As an affiliate of the Center for Gender in Organisations, she studies patterns and strategies used by women entrepreneurs as they access venture capital.