Abstract
Abstract
The research on entrepreneurship, especially women entrepreneurship, is a burgeoning area of research in the 21st Century due to its significance for economic development (Rashid & Ratten, 2020). Throughout the world, women of every generation with diverse cultural backgrounds show encouraging signs of entrepreneurial spirit (Nawaz, 2018).
Women of mixed ethnicity are over two and a half times more entrepreneurial than white women (ibid GEM, London Business School, 2006). It found ethnic minorities in the UK are more entrepreneurial than the white population, but are less likely to run older, established firms that generate stable income. Until recently, a lack of data and analysis on women entrepreneurs and those from ethnic minorities had held back the goal of boosting their numbers in the UK economy. That is changing slowly as more data is gathered by different UK organizations (Insights, 2023).
The economics literature has confirmed that women are more motivated by the social goals inherent in Social Entrepreneurship. Understanding the factors that influence the development of women's entrepreneurship could help policymakers design public policies (Fernández-Guadaño and Martín-López, 2022).
The ethnic minority population, particularly dominated by South Asians, is experiencing faster growth in their enterprises compared to their mainstream counterparts in the UK. Previous research has primarily focused on South Asian ethnic minority small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in and around London, specifically focusing on those owned by Indian entrepreneurs. However, there has been a notable gap in research concerning South Asian ethnic minority SMEs in other regions of the UK or those owned by entrepreneurs of Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent (Muhibul Haq, 2015). Too often, entrepreneurial efforts by women have gone unnoticed, and their contributions have been underappreciated (Datta and Gailey, 2012)
Studies on women’s entrepreneurship have focused on the experiences of white middle-class founders (Knight, 2016; Pettersson and Lindberg, 2013). The experiences of ethnic minority women entrepreneurs have therefore received limited attention by both scholars and policymakers. Moreover, as evidenced by the recent pandemic, those situated at the intersections of identity categories such as age, race, ethnicity, class, etc. tend to be more vulnerable in times of crises (Martinez Dy and Jayawarna, 2020). Women’s entrepreneurship was valued for its potential impact on the economy, while ethnic minority businesses were valued for their role in promoting social cohesion and multiculturalism (Carter et al., 2015).
The empowerment of women and the improvement of their political, social, economic, and health status is highly important and is one of the Global Sustainable Goals. The gender Equality index 2020 of EU-28 is 67.9, slowly increasing (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2021). Although there is some research related to women empowerment and economic development (Siba, 2019, Hemalatha, 2020, Doss, Malapit, & Comstock, 2020, etc.) or social entrepreneurship (Biggeri, Testi, Bellucci, During, & Persson, 2018; Briar-Lawson, Miesing, & Ram, 2020, etc.), combining these two fields and especially adding women from ethnic minority is very rare in scientific research. Women starting a social enterprise is itself contributing to women’s empowerment, assuming that social enterprise can be culturally more acceptable for women from ethnic minorities (Christauskas and Žilionė, 2021).
A significant literature gap exists in comprehending the outcomes of social enterprises, with a predominant focus on understanding the impact behind their establishment. This research aims to address this gap by concentrating on the outcomes of social enterprises led by women, specifically exploring their influence on women's empowerment across social, cultural, educational, professional, and religious dimensions. Notably, within the realm of Asian social enterprises, diverse missions and visions exist, with some emphasizing women empowerment, others focusing on community empowerment, and some dedicated to sustainability and education. The study seeks to evaluate the influence of Asian women-led social enterprises on women empowerment in the UK, examining implications and proposing avenues for improvement. Social entrepreneurs are the R&D lab for women’s empowerment with 4% of UK-based social enterprises focusing on women's empowerment (Woodman, Richardson, and Tsui, 2017). In measuring women's empowerment, Kabeer (1999) suggests a key element of empowerment is the “ability to make choices.” (p. 436). This proposed qualitative study aims to further this area of research by providing fresh insights into how Asian women-led social enterprises in the UK empower women within their communities. It will consider different ways in which individual preferences and experiences of minority women social entrepreneurs are embedded into their social, cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds.
World leaders across the globe are focusing on issues of women's empowerment through the creation of equal opportunities in education, work, and society. Social entrepreneurship has been considered a driver of women's empowerment; hence it also becomes important to assess its potential to empower women (Sharma and Kumar, 2021). Thus, the existing research will explore how Asian women-led social enterprises within the UK empower women in their communities.
A key question will be how minority Asian Women entrepreneurs empower women within their communities. The emphasis will be on Asian minority women social entrepreneurs, shedding light on their aims to empower women as a means of strengthening Social Entrepreneurship in the UK.
Research Aim:
The study seeks to evaluate the influence of Asian women-led social enterprises on women empowerment in the UK.
Research Questions:
How do Asian women-led social enterprises empower women in the UK?
What are the reasons behind such enterprises?
What influence do Asian Women Social Entrepreneurs have on their communities?
Research Methodology
The proposed research study is inductive and exploratory following an interpretivist paradigm. It is qualitative research with the focus of analyzing and develop an in-depth understanding of data collected using multiple methods e.g. in-depth interviews, etc. It may also be termed as in-depth analysis of a bounded system (Merriam & Tizdell, 2016; Khan, 2014; Saunders et al., 2003; Cooper & Emory, 2000; Sekaran, 2003). Convenient sampling, a type of non-probability sampling technique, shall be used to collect data from Asian female social entrepreneurs of England.
Conducting interviews is by far the most used data collection technique in qualitative research. DeMarrais (2004) defines a research interview as “a process in which a researcher and participant engage in a conversation focused on questions related to a research study” (Merriam & Tizdell, 2016). Semi-structured interviews shall be conducted to explore the phenomenon and answer proposed research questions. Once interviews are done, the respective recordings shall be transcribed into useful data which shall be analyzed. The chosen method of data analysis is narrative thematic. Through this approach, the researcher plans to apply both inductive and deductive coding approaches. This combined coding approach can be justified because the researcher will be open to the discovery of new themes and concepts that have emerged from interacting with participant subjectivity, whilst still being underpinned by the overarching framework of social enterprises. A thematic approach will enable subjectivities to be discovered through the collation of meaningful themes which can be both inducted and deducted within the overall research. Lastly, we will use the MAXQDA 2023 for analyzing the codes and themes to discover the semantic description. The quality of research shall be ensured by maintaining the credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability of the data collected using semi-structured interviews.
Possible contributions of the study:
It is anticipated that the study will contribute to three levels: theoretical, methodological, and contextual.
It will expand the current knowledge base, enhancing understanding of the significant advancements in the field of women-led social entrepreneurship in the UK.
The research aims to shed light on how women Asian social entrepreneurs effectively empower women in their communities, explaining the reasons behind such enterprises and exploring their impact on the communities involved.
Furthermore, the study intends to offer suggestions for existing challenges, laying the groundwork for the expansion of future research initiatives in this domain.
Finally, this research may be used by policymakers and have policy implications to improve the support for women's enterprises from ethnic minorities.
Proposing a model for women-led social enterprises empowering migrant Asian women.
The research on entrepreneurship, especially women entrepreneurship, is a burgeoning area of research in the 21st Century due to its significance for economic development (Rashid & Ratten, 2020). Throughout the world, women of every generation with diverse cultural backgrounds show encouraging signs of entrepreneurial spirit (Nawaz, 2018).
Women of mixed ethnicity are over two and a half times more entrepreneurial than white women (ibid GEM, London Business School, 2006). It found ethnic minorities in the UK are more entrepreneurial than the white population, but are less likely to run older, established firms that generate stable income. Until recently, a lack of data and analysis on women entrepreneurs and those from ethnic minorities had held back the goal of boosting their numbers in the UK economy. That is changing slowly as more data is gathered by different UK organizations (Insights, 2023).
The economics literature has confirmed that women are more motivated by the social goals inherent in Social Entrepreneurship. Understanding the factors that influence the development of women's entrepreneurship could help policymakers design public policies (Fernández-Guadaño and Martín-López, 2022).
The ethnic minority population, particularly dominated by South Asians, is experiencing faster growth in their enterprises compared to their mainstream counterparts in the UK. Previous research has primarily focused on South Asian ethnic minority small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in and around London, specifically focusing on those owned by Indian entrepreneurs. However, there has been a notable gap in research concerning South Asian ethnic minority SMEs in other regions of the UK or those owned by entrepreneurs of Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent (Muhibul Haq, 2015). Too often, entrepreneurial efforts by women have gone unnoticed, and their contributions have been underappreciated (Datta and Gailey, 2012)
Studies on women’s entrepreneurship have focused on the experiences of white middle-class founders (Knight, 2016; Pettersson and Lindberg, 2013). The experiences of ethnic minority women entrepreneurs have therefore received limited attention by both scholars and policymakers. Moreover, as evidenced by the recent pandemic, those situated at the intersections of identity categories such as age, race, ethnicity, class, etc. tend to be more vulnerable in times of crises (Martinez Dy and Jayawarna, 2020). Women’s entrepreneurship was valued for its potential impact on the economy, while ethnic minority businesses were valued for their role in promoting social cohesion and multiculturalism (Carter et al., 2015).
The empowerment of women and the improvement of their political, social, economic, and health status is highly important and is one of the Global Sustainable Goals. The gender Equality index 2020 of EU-28 is 67.9, slowly increasing (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2021). Although there is some research related to women empowerment and economic development (Siba, 2019, Hemalatha, 2020, Doss, Malapit, & Comstock, 2020, etc.) or social entrepreneurship (Biggeri, Testi, Bellucci, During, & Persson, 2018; Briar-Lawson, Miesing, & Ram, 2020, etc.), combining these two fields and especially adding women from ethnic minority is very rare in scientific research. Women starting a social enterprise is itself contributing to women’s empowerment, assuming that social enterprise can be culturally more acceptable for women from ethnic minorities (Christauskas and Žilionė, 2021).
A significant literature gap exists in comprehending the outcomes of social enterprises, with a predominant focus on understanding the impact behind their establishment. This research aims to address this gap by concentrating on the outcomes of social enterprises led by women, specifically exploring their influence on women's empowerment across social, cultural, educational, professional, and religious dimensions. Notably, within the realm of Asian social enterprises, diverse missions and visions exist, with some emphasizing women empowerment, others focusing on community empowerment, and some dedicated to sustainability and education. The study seeks to evaluate the influence of Asian women-led social enterprises on women empowerment in the UK, examining implications and proposing avenues for improvement. Social entrepreneurs are the R&D lab for women’s empowerment with 4% of UK-based social enterprises focusing on women's empowerment (Woodman, Richardson, and Tsui, 2017). In measuring women's empowerment, Kabeer (1999) suggests a key element of empowerment is the “ability to make choices.” (p. 436). This proposed qualitative study aims to further this area of research by providing fresh insights into how Asian women-led social enterprises in the UK empower women within their communities. It will consider different ways in which individual preferences and experiences of minority women social entrepreneurs are embedded into their social, cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds.
World leaders across the globe are focusing on issues of women's empowerment through the creation of equal opportunities in education, work, and society. Social entrepreneurship has been considered a driver of women's empowerment; hence it also becomes important to assess its potential to empower women (Sharma and Kumar, 2021). Thus, the existing research will explore how Asian women-led social enterprises within the UK empower women in their communities.
A key question will be how minority Asian Women entrepreneurs empower women within their communities. The emphasis will be on Asian minority women social entrepreneurs, shedding light on their aims to empower women as a means of strengthening Social Entrepreneurship in the UK.
Research Aim:
The study seeks to evaluate the influence of Asian women-led social enterprises on women empowerment in the UK.
Research Questions:
How do Asian women-led social enterprises empower women in the UK?
What are the reasons behind such enterprises?
What influence do Asian Women Social Entrepreneurs have on their communities?
Research Methodology
The proposed research study is inductive and exploratory following an interpretivist paradigm. It is qualitative research with the focus of analyzing and develop an in-depth understanding of data collected using multiple methods e.g. in-depth interviews, etc. It may also be termed as in-depth analysis of a bounded system (Merriam & Tizdell, 2016; Khan, 2014; Saunders et al., 2003; Cooper & Emory, 2000; Sekaran, 2003). Convenient sampling, a type of non-probability sampling technique, shall be used to collect data from Asian female social entrepreneurs of England.
Conducting interviews is by far the most used data collection technique in qualitative research. DeMarrais (2004) defines a research interview as “a process in which a researcher and participant engage in a conversation focused on questions related to a research study” (Merriam & Tizdell, 2016). Semi-structured interviews shall be conducted to explore the phenomenon and answer proposed research questions. Once interviews are done, the respective recordings shall be transcribed into useful data which shall be analyzed. The chosen method of data analysis is narrative thematic. Through this approach, the researcher plans to apply both inductive and deductive coding approaches. This combined coding approach can be justified because the researcher will be open to the discovery of new themes and concepts that have emerged from interacting with participant subjectivity, whilst still being underpinned by the overarching framework of social enterprises. A thematic approach will enable subjectivities to be discovered through the collation of meaningful themes which can be both inducted and deducted within the overall research. Lastly, we will use the MAXQDA 2023 for analyzing the codes and themes to discover the semantic description. The quality of research shall be ensured by maintaining the credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability of the data collected using semi-structured interviews.
Possible contributions of the study:
It is anticipated that the study will contribute to three levels: theoretical, methodological, and contextual.
It will expand the current knowledge base, enhancing understanding of the significant advancements in the field of women-led social entrepreneurship in the UK.
The research aims to shed light on how women Asian social entrepreneurs effectively empower women in their communities, explaining the reasons behind such enterprises and exploring their impact on the communities involved.
Furthermore, the study intends to offer suggestions for existing challenges, laying the groundwork for the expansion of future research initiatives in this domain.
Finally, this research may be used by policymakers and have policy implications to improve the support for women's enterprises from ethnic minorities.
Proposing a model for women-led social enterprises empowering migrant Asian women.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | ISBE Conference 2024 |
| Publication status | Published (VoR) - 6 Nov 2024 |