Informal entrepreneurship and women's empowerment – the case of street vendors in urban Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Armando Pineda Duque ◽  
Suelen Emilia Castiblanco Moreno
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Female Empowerment ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Street Vendors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Informal Entrepreneurship

PurposeInternational development organizations promote access to resources through self-employment as one of the main strategies to achieve women's empowerment. However, many self-employees are more similar to informal workers than to successful entrepreneurs affecting women's control over resources and their empowerment process. This article analyzes the relationship between informal entrepreneurship and female empowerment in the context of an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed a sample of 295 female street vendors in Bogotá – Colombia. Contingency and correlational analysis is performed.FindingsEvidence is found about the expansion of women's capacity to make decisions about resource allocation and time managing because of informal entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, these decisions are not strategic nor given in a context with several options. Several structural constraints to the exercise of agency limit empowerment to an individual process dependent on circumstances instead of a collective process resulting in changes in women's social conditions.Research limitations/implicationsThis research allows for a better understanding of the potentialities and opportunities these entrepreneurships offer to women and what strategies could be implemented to take advantage of them.Practical implicationsDespite their characteristics, informal entrepreneurship has potentialities to improve female empowerment especially when factors beyond economic rationality, such as personal, familial and sociocultural, are considered.Originality/valueThe authors discuss the category of informal entrepreneurship in emerging economies and evaluate the success of this type of entrepreneurship with a gender point of view by incorporating empowerment as measure.

Secular and Islamic feminist entrepreneurship in Turkey

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banu Özkazanç-Pan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Individual Level

Purpose – This paper aims to highlight secular and Islamic feminist approaches to entrepreneurship as potential means to challenge gender inequality in the Turkish context. In Turkey, gender equality remains elusive in a nation where secular and Islamic ideologies compete and produce different solutions to ongoing economic, socio-cultural and political issues. Women’s entrepreneurship has emerged as an important solution toward gender equality and economic development. Design/methodology/approach – Using two women’s organizations that exemplify secular and Islamic feminist ideologies, the author examines whether the entrepreneurship activities they promote give way to challenging patriarchal norms, values and practices widespread in Turkish society. Findings – Through their distinct practices and engagement with entrepreneurship, both secular and Islamic feminist positions allow for praxis and represent an ethico-political commitment to dismantling neo-liberal development ideologies in the Turkish context that perpetuate gender inequality. Social implications – Secular and Islamic feminist practices and entrepreneurship practices have different implications for achieving gender equality including changes in gender norms, economic development policies and women’s empowerment in a Muslim-majority country. In addition, it raises questions around the popular notion of “entrepreneurship as women’s empowerment”. Originality/value – This paper is of value to scholars who want to understand secular and Islamic feminisms and their implications for challenging gender inequality. The Turkish context with its traditional and modern societal norms and values provides a rich case study to examine these issues through the exemplars of entrepreneurship. It is also of value to scholars who want to understand structural constraints associated with gender equality beyond individual-level challenges.

‘Micro-programmes’ fail to empower women

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Domestic Labour ◽  
Entrepreneurial Training ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Impact

Subject Evaluation of women's empowerment programmes. Significance New research is contesting the impact and relevance of 'women’s empowerment' programming in international development. The term ‘empowerment’ was first advanced by feminists from the Global South in the 1970s, but aid organisations placed it under a broad umbrella of initiatives that have failed to advance women’s socio-political status. Often focusing on ‘micro-programmes’, such as microfinance and gendered entrepreneurial training, women’s empowerment initiatives have in fact limited women’s participation in public life, increased their domestic labour and reinforced gender inequality. Impacts Focusing ‘empowerment’ training on the domestic sphere or micro-enterprises will do little to elevate women’s status. Greater economic power for women without changes in men’s attitudes can lead to more domestic violence. Perpetuating the image of women as victims reinforces their depoliticisation by the state.

scholarly journals The effects of microfinance on women’s empowerment: new evidence from Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1745-1757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mafizur Rahman ◽  
Rasheda Khanam ◽  
Son Nghiem
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Baseline Data ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of microcredit on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh using the latest primary data. Design/methodology/approach Primary data have been collected by a household survey in the four districts of Bangladesh. Logistic regression is used to estimate the odd of improving women empowerment after participating in microfinance. Findings The results show positive impacts of microfinance on most of the selected indicators for women’s empowerment. Research limitations/implications Lack of control groups and baseline data are the main limitation of this research. Future research can address this issue by selecting institutions with baseline data or control groups. Practical implications The findings of the study can help policy makers to adopt appropriate policies that integrate empowerment in development projects with women. Social implications The results of this research could encourage more women to participate in microfinance activities and development projects. Originality/value This research provides the most updated data from a primary survey in Bangladesh. The authors also mitigate the possible selection biases by using a fixed-effects estimator.

scholarly journals Innovations in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Partner Organization ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
Transnational Actors ◽  
Promote Gender Equality ◽  
The Impact

Many studies have highlighted benefits of international volunteering, particularly the positive impacts for the volunteers themselves. Adding to this scholarship, the papers in the collection fill an important gap in our understanding of the impact of international development volunteering from the perspective of partner organization staff who work collaboratively with international development volunteers to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The collection provides insights into negotiated spaces and mutual learning as well as the unique role international development volunteers play as transnational actors by working closely with staff in development organizations. With contributions by Tiffany Laursen, Benjamin Lough, Tabitha Mirza, Rika Mpogazi, Lan Nguyen, Nnenna Okoli, Leva Rouhani, Khursheed Sadat, Somed Shahadu Bitamsimli, Pascale Saint-Denis und Rebecca Tiessen.

scholarly journals Tourism development, entrepreneurship and women's empowerment – Focus on Serbian countryside

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darko B. Vukovic ◽  
Marko Petrovic ◽  
Moinak Maiti ◽  
Aleksandra Vujko
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Character ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe starting premise of this study is that women's empowerment is the goal for self-realization and that the support that comes from local tourism stakeholders represents an adequate base. In many rural areas, women have established self-help groups (SHGs), which facilitate the interaction with a wide range of stakeholders. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of SHGs on female entrepreneurship and self-employment in tourism.Design/methodology/approachTo examine the research question, this study adopted a quantitative research that included a sample of 513 women in a less-advanced rural area in Serbia. For the data analysis, the generalized linear regression model (GLM) was used.FindingsAccording to the results, self-employment is the leading goal of women's empowerment.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation in the research and the authors’ suggestion for future research is to increase the sample size of female respondents, so examination of their attitudes and role in the travel business in their local settings might reach higher significance. The second issue that the authors would like to point out is a highly local character of our study, so the future research should involve other rural areas in the country and from abroad (e.g. similar undeveloped countryside with noticeable, active women's role in local entrepreneurship).Practical implicationsThe most important practical implications of this paper are twofold: (1) the results of the research have shown that the tourist potential of rural areas can be enhanced through local tourism stakeholders' support; (2) women without professional interest or jobs in rural areas, especially in the areas where the population is traditionally dominated by men (husband/brother/father), have a chance to earn and to be economically more independent. This research can affect future studies to investigate other aspects of empowerment depending on the difference of regions, from one side, and also alternative opportunities for tourism and local development in less-advanced rural areas, from another side.Originality/valueThe study analyzes the tourism potential of the rural areas (which are less advanced and mostly very poor in developing countries, such as Serbia). In this case, there are opportunities to increase employment, social inclusion of women, development of new tourism strategies, implementation of destination marketing, etc. Moreover, it contributes to future research in the field of stakeholders in tourism strategies.

Women's empowerment and household food security in Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Essilfie ◽  
Joshua Sebu ◽  
Samuel Kobina Annim ◽  
Emmanuel Ekow Asmah
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Different Dimensions

PurposeThis study adopts three dimensions of women’s empowerment: (1) relative education empowerment, (2) women's autonomy in decision-making and (3) domestic violence to examine the effect of women’s empowerment on household food security in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the generalised ordered logit model (GOLM) and dominance analysis using a sample of 1,017 households from the seventh round of Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS7).FindingsThe findings from the study revealed that women’s empowerment proxied by relative years of schooling and women's decision-making were important indicators for improving household food security. Further, there exist varying dimensions of women’s empowerment in households, and these dimensions have a significant effect on the state of food security of households.Originality/valueThere are a number of studies on the effect of women's empowerment on food security. However, this study contributes to the literature by examining the varying effects of different dimensions of women’s empowerment on food security. This provides policymakers with a guide that looks at different levels of women’s empowerment and the combinations of women's empowerment dimensions that contribute for reducing food insecurity.

Overlooked consequences could harm women's rights

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
High Positive Correlation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Interventions ◽  
Promote Gender Equality

Subject Assessment of women's empowerment policies. Significance A new study from Colombia published in March showed a high positive correlation between indicators of women's empowerment and rates of domestic violence. Development organisations are also increasingly acknowledging that their projects aimed at promoting gender equality have unintended negative effects on women, raising questions about how best to design development interventions that promote gender equality. Impacts Ignoring the negative consequences of empowerment programmes for women could reduce funding in the long term. These negative consequences could also create a backlash against women's empowerment among women themselves. Without also addressing men's attitudes, women's empowerment programmes will be hobbled.

Dimensions and drivers of women's empowerment in rural Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwakemi Adeola Obayelu ◽  
Amaka Christiana Chime
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rural Nigeria

PurposeThe majority of poor women in Africa live in rural areas, and investigating their empowerment status and factors influencing their empowerment is therefore a tool for overcoming poverty. This paper investigated the dimensions and determinants of women's empowerment in rural Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis study used data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). Information on women's agencies, resource, income, leadership and time/workload was used to construct women empowerment index (WEI). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression model.FindingsMost of the decisions were made by the women's spouses, while decisions on how to spend her earnings were jointly made with her spouse. A majority of the women did not justify beating nor owned businesses. A larger percentage of rural women were disempowered than men; agency had the highest relative contribution to women's disempowerment; and women in the northern zones of Nigeria were less empowered than their southern counterparts. Husband's education and her age were inversely related to women's empowerments while her education, household size and being the household head were directly related to it.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of empirical studies on multidimensional women's empowerment in rural Nigeria. This study therefore provides a clear understanding of drivers of women's empowerment in rural Nigeria, and its findings are to serve as guiding documents for policymakers in designing gender-responsive interventions programs and implementation of a genuine gender mainstreaming in rural development policy in Nigeria. Further, the findings would contribute to the growing body of knowledge, especially empirical studies, on women's empowerment in Nigeria and the developing world.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2019-0455

Women’s empowerment and family poverty in the Tawhidi epistemological approach

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aas Nurasyiah ◽  
Miyasto Miyasto ◽  
Tatik Mariyanti ◽  
Irfan Syauqi Beik
Keyword(s):  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Economic Variables ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Perspective ◽  
Socio Economic Variables ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the socio-economic factors that will affect women’s empowerment from an Islamic perspective (the Tawhidi epistemological approach) and the impact of women’s empowerment on reducing family poverty. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative approach to see the relationship between research variables with structural equation model-partial least squares as the analysis tool. Findings In general, socio-economic variables had direct and indirect effects on reducing family poverty. In addition, the variable of women’s empowerment in an Islamic perspective can strengthen the influence of socio-economic variables on the alleviation of family poverty. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this research lies in the use of religiosity as an indicator with some constraints and the inclusion of all the necessary dimensions of a Muslim family. Additionally, because of the scope of the present research, the results may not be applicable in different areas, especially countries with distinctive characteristics such as having Muslims as the major population. On the other hand, the results of this research may provide comprehensive indicators of empowered Muslim women which enable the correlation between the socio-economic factors and women’s empowerment and how women’s empowerment can contribute to the alleviation of family poverty from the perspective of Islam. Originality/value This research provides new insights into the variable of women’s empowerment measured using the Islamic paradigm (Tawhidi epistemology) and includes religiosity as a variable that directly and indirectly influences the reduction of family poverty.

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