Editorial

Citation

Henry, C. and Neergaard, H. (2022), "Editorial", International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-03-2022-204

Stepping down and stepping up

Stepping down

The International Journal of Gender & Entrepreneurship (IJGE) was launched at the Diana Conference, Belfast, in 2008, with the very first issue published in 2009. Having founded the journal and watched it grow over the past 13 years into a niche publication outlet for high-level research scholarship on gender and entrepreneurship, I have decided to step down as Editor in Chief. This has not been an easy decision, but I think it is time now to hand over to a new editorial team who – with a fresh perspective – will put their own stamp on the journal and take it to the next level. I leave IJGE in the very capable and experienced hands of Helle Neergaard as the new Editor in Chief. Helle will be supported by IJGE's recently appointed Field Editors – Bronwyn Wood and Nastaran Simarasl.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of IJGE's contributing authors and SI Editors who saw fit to choose IJGE as an outlet for their research work. I also very much appreciate the work of our reviewers and Editorial Advisory Board members who gave generously of their time and expertise to review manuscripts, encourage young scholars and enhance contributions.

I am especially grateful to my very good friends and colleagues Lene Foss and Kate Lewis – IJGE's outgoing Consulting Editors – who helped me manage the flow of submissions on ScholarOne and worked with me on the strategic direction of the journal, as well as special issues; you were more helpful than you will ever know!

I also want to acknowledge the incredible commitment and belief shown by those scholars who contributed to our inaugural issue back in 2009 and to our first Legacy Scholars SI a decade later – Sue Marlow, Candida Brush, Patricia Greene, Anne de Bruin, Friederike Welter, John Watson, Sara Carter, Elenor Shaw, Jennifer Jennings, Karen Hughes, Teresa Nelson, Elisabeth Sundin, Carin Holmquist and the late Julie Weeks and their co-authors.

Dinah Bennet and Jackie Briereton also deserve a special mention for the support they have given the journal over the years – priceless!

Finally, a big thank you and good bye to the lovely team at Emerald – from Rob Edwards who helped me start this incredible journey to Helen Beddow and Emma Ferguson (and all of their colleagues); it has been an absolute pleasure working with you; I will miss you for sure!

So now, over to Helle as she takes the journal to new heights. I wish you every success for the future.

Colette

Stepping up

On January 1, I was appointed as the new Editor in Chief of IJGE. It is with great pleasure that I pick up the baton from Professor Colette Henry. Upon taking up the helm of IJGE, I cannot but reflect on how much the IJGE is indebted to Colette, who was the founding Editor in Chief. In that role, for the past 13 years, Colette has shown tremendous leadership in establishing the publications scope, policies and procedures, assembling an editorial board and steadily growing the journal. Indeed, Colette has been instrumental in taking the journal to jump straight in as a level two journal on the CABS journal ranking list. This is a great achievement indeed. As I commence my editorship, I want to thank Colette for her dedicated service, which has greatly benefitted our global research community. We are all greatly indebted to her for her incessant work on the journal. Following in her footsteps will not be an easy task.

As I am writing this, I am still becoming familiar with the tasks involved in being the Editor in Chief of IJGE. Although I am a scholar of many years' experience and have been on the editorial review board, editorial board and as a co-editor at various entrepreneurship journals, my appointment as the Editor in Chief of IJGE seems a bit of a “baptism of fire.” I hope our readership, community and the authors currently awaiting action will be patient while I find my feet in this role. I promise it will not take too long.

I intend to continue Colette's legacy of providing a forum for international scholars to present their research findings and engage in an open conversation to move the field forward, but I also have a few new ideas for how we can proceed towards becoming the journal of choice for all scholars who are interested and do research in gender and entrepreneurship. I would, however, like to involve our community in the development of IJGE in various ways. To this effect, I will be having discussions with members of the Editorial Board and various other stakeholders over the next couple of weeks on the future direction of the journal. Indeed, having a supportive Editorial Board and Editorial Advisory Board is crucial to the future success of the IJGE, and I look forward to working with Bronwyn Wood and Nastaran Simarasl as well as our Editorial Advisory Board. However, there would be no journal without our authors and our readership. Let me therefore close by inviting our community to contact me with novel ideas for developing IJGE. You can reach me on Helle.Neergaard@mgmt.au.dk. Together we will reach new heights.

Helle