scholarly journals Neo-liberalism translated into preconditions for women entrepreneurs – two contrasting cases

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Tillmar ◽  
Helene Ahl ◽  
Karin Berglund ◽  
Katarina Pettersson
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Contrasting two countries with different gender regimes and welfare states, Sweden and Tanzania, this paper aims to analyse how the institutional context affects the ways in which a neo-liberal reform agenda is translated into institutional changes and propose how such changes impact the preconditions for women’s entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach This study uses document analysis and previous studies to describe and analyse the institutions and the institutional changes. This paper uses Scandinavian institutional theory as the interpretative framework. Findings This study proposes that: in well-developed welfare states with a high level of gender equality, consequences of neo-liberal agenda for the preconditions for women entrepreneurs are more likely to be negative than positive. In less developed states with a low level of gender equality, the gendered consequences of neo-liberal reforms may be mixed and the preconditions for women’s entrepreneurship more positive than negative. How neo-liberalism impacts preconditions for women entrepreneurs depend on the institutional framework in terms of a trustworthy women-friendly state and level of gender equality. Research limitations/implications The study calls for bringing the effects on the gender of the neo-liberal primacy of market solutions out of the black box. Studying how women entrepreneurs perceive these effects necessitates qualitative ethnographic data. Originality/value This paper demonstrates why any discussion of the impact of political or economic reforms on women’s entrepreneurship must take a country’s specific institutional context into account. Further, previous studies on neo-liberalism have rarely taken an interest in Africa.

Challenging gender norms and practices through women’s entrepreneurship

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 338-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Emilia Bianco ◽  
Margaret Lombe ◽  
Mara Bolis
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Gender Scripts ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Interactionism

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of women’s entrepreneurship to bring about greater gender equality. Understanding women’s entrepreneurship as a gendered process (Bird and Brush, 2002), the study presents the challenges encountered by women entrepreneurs as a result of gender ideologies. It documents structural barriers, discriminatory interactions and oppressive gender scripts and their effects on the women and their businesses. Acknowledging women’s possibilities for agency and resistance, the study analyzes how women entrepreneurs conform, contest or negotiate gender scripts and constraints, and looks at the consequences of these actions. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from elements of social interactionism and the doing and undoing gender theories, the authors use a feminist theoretic framework to guide analysis of qualitative data from two focus groups conducted with 19 women entrepreneurs in Colombia. Findings Gender ideologies were manifested in the forms of interrelated structural barriers that restricted women entrepreneurs’ access to resources. Social interactions represented spaces in which gender ideologies were reinforced, but also spaces women used to produce changes through resistance and accommodation strategies. Entrepreneurship was associated with positive changes toward greater gender equality, although negative consequences were reported. Research limitations/implications Due to the limited sample, more studies across countries may be needed for the consolidation of a generalizable theoretical framework. Originality/value This study presents a feminist theoretic framework in dialogue with the lived experiences of women entrepreneurs. It observes the processes of change toward gender equality embedded in business development.

Exploring the normative context for women’s entrepreneurship in Pakistan: a critical analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azam Roomi ◽  
Sumaira Rehman ◽  
Colette Henry
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The role of women in Pakistani society – largely embedded in its patriarchal socio–cultural environment – has important implications for women’s entrepreneurial activity in the country. This study aims to investigate and analyse the influence of informal institutional factors on women’s entry into entrepreneurship in Pakistan, and determine how women exercise agency to cope with the constraints posed by such factors. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is used to explore the normative context and lived experiences of women entrepreneurs in relation to the influence of socio–cultural beliefs and attitudes on their entrepreneurial career choices. Findings The findings suggest that women’s entrepreneurial career choices both revolve around and are shaped by a complex interplay of socio–cultural influences. Pakistani women entrepreneurs exercise their agency as a means of negotiating gender roles within both household and society, using religious descriptions as a means to justify their entrepreneurial activity. Research limitations/implications While every effort has been made to ensure that the data were objectively interpreted, and the derived findings were robustly analysed, the research team acknowledges the many difficulties associated with adopting a social constructionist approach. As articulated by Fletcher (2011), the key issues of contextual objectivity (i.e. where the researcher judges what is important), reflexive turn (the need for the researcher to constantly reconnect with the subject) and potential multiplicity of contexts (the various contextual and potentially conflicting influences on the researcher) presents ongoing challenges for researchers in this field. Originality/value This study offers valuable insights into the impact of the informal (socio–cultural) institutional factors on women’s entrepreneurial activity, opening up new avenues for further research. The study also contributes to the women’s entrepreneurship literature from the perspective of an Islamic developing country.

Gendering of commercial justice – experience of self-employed women in urban Tanzania

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Tillmar
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship

Purpose – Women’s entrepreneurship is often seen as the solution of both economic growth and gender equality. This is despite academic knowledge of the gendered preconditions for entrepreneurship in many contexts. This paper aims to focus on the gendering of commercial justice, a precondition for entrepreneurship. Informed by gender perspectives on women’s entrepreneurship and previous studies on commercial justice in East Africa, this paper sets out to explore the experiences of urban women entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an interview study with women entrepreneurs and representatives of support organizations in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The interviews were conducted in Kiswahili, and access was enabled through dialogues with local partner organizations such as the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce. Findings – Findings are that with formal legal rights, the informal institutions imply that the marital status of the women, and the attitude of their husbands, is the overarching determinants for the commercial justice perceived as available to them. This has implication for many policy areas, such as entrepreneurship support, women’s empowerment and labour market policy. Theoretically, the findings highlight the importance of studying the informal institutions affecting women’s entrepreneurship around the globe. Concerning commercial justice in particular, three dimensions of gendering are identified. Research limitations/implications – The paper is based on a qualitative interview study. Further studies with varying methods are needed to further explore the gendering of commercial justice in Tanzania, East Africa and beyond. Practical implications – A major practical implication of the study is the insight that business for development, will not automatically lead to business for equality, on a general level. The gender bias is also reproduced in everyday business life, for example, thorough access to commercial justice. Special measures to target the gender equality issue are, therefore, necessary. Another implication of the findings regard the importance of Alternative Dispute Resolution initiatives, affordable to women small and medium enterprise-owners. Originality/value – While other obstacles to women’s entrepreneurship in the developing contexts have been well explored, the gendering of perceived commercial justice has not received sufficient attention in previous studies. Studies applying a gender theoretical perspective on entrepreneurship in the explored context are still needed.

scholarly journals Contexts and gender – looking back and thinking forward

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Welter
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
Over Time

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the main contributions of the context-gender discussion in entrepreneurship research and its main developments over time to identify promising future research avenues. Design/methodology/approach This paper builds on the author’s extensive knowledge of the context-gender debate and on several recent overviews and reviews of the debate. It is written as essay, introducing its main themes through a personal reflection and complemented by a selective review of research on gendered contexts and women’s entrepreneurship. Findings The context-gender discussion has moved forward. The first wave of context-gender studies contextualized gender, considering the impact of contexts on women’s entrepreneurship. Nowadays, studies are conducted on how contexts are gendered and how they are constructed in gendered ways through, for example, words, images, cognitions, as well as how women entrepreneurs can impact on and enact their contexts. Originality/value This paper contributes novel insights into contextualizing gender and gendering contexts. It is unique in suggesting that a perspective on gendering contexts will allow to explore the diversity of entrepreneurship and further develop theories related to contexts and gender.

(In)visibility in the margins: COVID-19, women entrepreneurs and the need for inclusive recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 667-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Grandy ◽  
Wendy Cukier ◽  
Suzanne Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Important Addition ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
Recovery Approach ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to extend Lewis and Simpson’s (2010) work on the complexity of (in)visibility and explores what it means to women’s entrepreneurship in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This piece contributes to the special issue on COVID-19 and the impact on women entrepreneurs. Specifically, it applies an (in)visibility lens to argue that responses to COVID-19 in Canada negatively affect women entrepreneurs disproportionately and that while initiatives such as the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) are threatened, they can also serve as an agitator during this time to advocate for an inclusive recovery approach. Findings Despite progress through such government funded initiatives as the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), which is targeting more than $2bn (Cdn) in investments towards women entrepreneurs, structural inequality and the (in)visibility of women’s entrepreneurship has been amplified during COVID-19. Through a particular understanding of the (in)visibility vortex notion (Lewis and Simpson, 2010), it is concluded the (in)visibility of women entrepreneurs as deeply embedded and that there is a continued need to advocate for a gender and diversity lens, to ensure inclusive recovery that benefits women and diverse entrepreneurs. Originality/value An (in)visibility lens brings an important addition to the literature on women’s entrepreneurship, as well as illuminates the important differences within this broad category, deepening the understanding of these trends and their impact during COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how the complexities of intersectionality are critical to understand, and their recognition can help to drive a clear evidence base, as well as advocacy. The piece call researchers and practitioners alike to consider the question under COVID-19, will these conditions create a new vortex in this domain, or can the work of organizations and researchers position gender and intersectionality in women entrepreneurship as a disrupter for the future?

Women’s entrepreneurship and internationalization: patterns and trends

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 780-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Ratten ◽  
Kayhan Tajeddini
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
New Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on women’s entrepreneurship and internationalization in order to build an understanding about future trends. There is increasing interest in the role of women in entrepreneurship yet little research has been conducted about the link to internationalization patterns. Design/methodology/approach The literature is reviewed based on a systematic analysis of the words women, female, gender and internationalization. Findings Three main schools of thought around women’s entrepreneurship and internationalization (philosophy, management and motivations) are then discussed. The analysis of literature and classification into main theories enables the building of new research around women’s entrepreneurship and internationalization. Originality/value There is a pipeline of women intending to become entrepreneurs so this paper helps to understand how women entrepreneurs influence internationalization patterns and how to help support women in their business endeavors.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF THE CRISIS CAUSED BY COVID-19 ON WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TOURISM IN SERBIA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nebojša Pavlović ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Domestic Tourism ◽  
The Future ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this paper is to consider the impact of the crisis caused by Covid-19 on tourism and on women's entrepreneurship in tourism in Serbia. The paper will use the methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction, specification and generalization, observation, testing, content analysis, and case study. Based on the available data, it can be concluded that the crisis caused by Covid-19 on the one hand led to (1) the closure of a large number of entrepreneurial companies in the field of tourism, as a result of which a large number of women entrepreneurs lost their jobs; (2) the increased importance of domestic tourism due to the increase in the participation of domestic tourists in total tourist trends. In the future, more attention should be paid to the possibility of training women entrepreneurs in the field of tourism.

Revisiting women’s entrepreneurship

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
The Family ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study women’s entrepreneurship from the family-firm context and radical subjectivist (RS) economics. While women’s entrepreneurship is a long-standing topic of research interest, there have been calls for more theory-oriented research and research which takes context factors in women’s entrepreneurship seriously. The paper responds to this by using an RS’s view of economics as a theoretical lens to consider women’s entrepreneurship in family firms. Design/methodology/approach – The paper briefly reviews the potential of the family-firm context for examining women’s entrepreneurship in a non-reductive fashion, then outlines radical subjectivism (RS). The three main elements of RS’s “entrepreneurial imagination” are explained, then linked with other theories of family-firm behaviour and applied to casework on women entrepreneurs in family firms. Findings – Each element of the entrepreneurial imagination, empathy, modularity and self-organization, generates new research questions which contest previous apparently settled views about women entrepreneurs. Protocols for investigating the questions are suggested. The third element, self-organization, while more difficult to operationalize for empirical testing, suggests how women’s entrepreneurship might generate new industries. Research limitations/implications – While this is primarily a conceptual study, its case studies invite further exploration of both women entrepreneurs and family firms. The RS perspective could also increase understanding of shared leadership and innovation in family firms. Specific research questions and protocols for investigating them are offered. Practical implications – Insights from the research have practical implications for entrepreneurship education, for understanding entrepreneurship at the level of society, the firm and the individual. Social implications – The importance of both family firms and women entrepreneurs to society makes it important to understand both of them better. The RS perspective can help. Originality/value – The paper highlights the value of combining attention to entrepreneurial context (family firms) and theory (RS) to reinvigorate some old research questions about women entrepreneurs. The combination of family firms and RS is also novel.

How women entrepreneurs build embeddedness: a case study approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Aggestam ◽  
Caroline Wigren-Kristoferson
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Critical Resource ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how women entrepreneurs are building embeddedness into male-gendered fields and how they are creating embedding in such fields in practice. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative methodology and three indicative case stories within gastronomic industry are illustrated and analysed. Findings The contribution of this study lies in the examination of the multifaceted embedding building process from dis-embedded, marginalised and suppressed position by women entrepreneurs. This was achieved with the help of building embedding through two strategies: sameness, that is, becoming one of the boys and then becoming a challenger, thereby enhancing their professional position. Research limitations/implications The study is subject to limitations; a small sample is not suited for the generalizability of results. The most important implication of this study is the identification of the process of building embeddedness as the most critical resource for women’s entrepreneurship that should be supported by the scholarly and business community. Originality/value The theoretical framework developed for this study laid the foundation for developing literature on the embeddedness of women’s entrepreneurship and how the process of creating embedding becomes instrumental in business ownership.

Policies for supporting women entrepreneurs in developing countries: the case of Tanzania

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Modestus Nziku ◽  
Colette Henry
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Entrepreneurship Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Setting ◽  
Women’S Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women's Entrepreneurship ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Unique Context

PurposeWhile the topic of women's entrepreneurship continues to grow in academic appeal, the policy aspect is one that has received limited scholarly attention, especially in the context of developing countries. To address this gap in scholarship, the purpose of this paper aims to critically explore women's entrepreneurship policy in Tanzania. The research question asks: How are policies designed to encourage and support entrepreneurship in Tanzania gendered, and how might such policies be (re)designed so that they are more relevant to women entrepreneurs in the Tanzanian context? The authors contribute to extant scholarship by: drawing attention to the particular context for women's entrepreneurship in Tanzania; identifying gender biases inherent in current entrepreneurship policies; offering some recommendations for policymakers and identifying areas worthy of future research attention in this area.Design/methodology/approachThe study builds on the Global Women's Enterprise Policy project. The authors apply an adapted reading guide technique to analyse and critique relevant entrepreneurship policy documents in Tanzania. The reading guide examines the category and type of document being analysed, key themes, content, language and imagery, as well as the key policy recommendations being offered and their relevance to women's entrepreneurship in Tanzania and the wider sub-Saharan African region. Completed reading guide templates are then coded and collated into an excel spreadsheet. Findings are discussed and critiqued within a regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive framework.FindingsThe study provides rich and valuable insights into the unique context for women's entrepreneurship in Tanzania, shedding new light on how women's entrepreneurship is supported in a particular region of sub-Saharan Africa. Findings reveal that while current policy acknowledges the important role women play in their communities, especially in terms of their contribution to labour, it is geared more towards small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development than entrepreneurship; this is despite the fact that entrepreneurship is identified as a means to address sustainable development challenges (notably unemployment and poverty) and expand opportunities for socially disadvantaged groups, especially women. Existing policy is essentially “context neutral” and hence relatively ineffective; the gender focus is lacking and there is a failure to take account of the specific context in which Tanzanian women entrepreneurs have to operate. The authors argue for policies designed to support women's entrepreneurship to be formalised and contextualised in their specific geographical and cultural setting. The “institutional pillars” framework allows us to identify areas where contextualisation of women's entrepreneurship policies could be enhanced.Practical implicationsThe study implies that, to be effective, policies designed to support women's entrepreneurship need to be formalised and contextualised to their specific geographical and cultural setting. Some areas where this might be achieved are identified. Avenues for future research in this area are also suggested.Originality/valueThe value of the paper lies in its focus on Tanzania, and its critique of existing policies from a gender and institutional perspective. It also enhances understanding of the unique context in Tanzania for entrepreneurship.

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