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Jalleh Sarafizad, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate in the School of Management at Edith Cowan University (ECU) presents her research "Networking" as a finalist in ECU's 2010 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Jalleh was the Third Place Winner for ECU's 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition in 2010. Jalleh begins her presentation by defining a small business as any business with less than 20 employees. In Australia: - 96% of all private businesses are small businesses - Only 1 in 3 business owners are women Networking is important for businesses, as it gives business owners a chance to promote their business and get the support they need to run and grow their business. Jalleh highlights the fact that when it comes to networking, women business owners are far more disadvantaged than men - often because of social/cultural reasons and family responsibilities. Additionally, business men and business women network differently. Jalleh's research looks at how the following factors affect on the networking behaviour of business women: - motivation for starting a business - educational background of the business owner - family responsibilities - business experiences - the nature of the business itself These factors were chosen because they are the most common factors affecting women and their business, Jalleh wants to study whether the same factors affect women's networking behaviours. Jalleh's research will help build leadership, management and business skills in Australia, as well as helping to increase the number of women business owners in Australia. She sees benefits in terms of giving women a better chance to start businesses, to grow their business and to succeed. It will also help the economic and social status of women in Australia. ECU's 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is a research communication competition where ECU's Master by Research, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Honours students have three minutes to explain their research and its significance to an intelligent but non-specialist audience, using just one presentation slide! For more information about the Three Minute Thesis (3MT™) competition at Edith Cowan University: http://www.ecu.edu.au/research/week/3mt-competition