Challenges Confronting Women Entrepreneurs: An Exploratory Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v4i4.224Keywords:
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Women's Empowerment, Women EntrepreneursAbstract
Women entrepreneurs encounter several hurdles and barriers that restrict their business success and limit their economic contributions. This qualitative study investigated the specific challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in district Jhang, Punjab, Pakistan, with a focus on their experiences in beginning and establishing businesses. Purposive sampling technique was used for data collection via one-on-one interviews with 11 female entrepreneurs (n=11) from various industries aged between 20 and 65 (M = 33.36, SD = 12.77). Thematic Analysis was employed to analyze the data. Initially, common themes were collected, and these common themes were then examined to identify repeating patterns and superordinate and subordinate themes were extracted from the reduced themes. The findings of the study reveal several key challenges that hinder the entrepreneurial success of women. Cultural factors emerged as significant barriers, with limited support and recognition being a recurring theme. Cultural barriers such as limited support and recognition, societal biases and resistance from family and community are among these challenges. The findings emphasized the importance of providing targeted support and interventions to overcome these issues and boost the success of women-owned companies. Pakistan can leverage the full potential of women's entrepreneurship for economic growth and development by empowering women entrepreneurs and establishing an enabling environment.
References
Afza, T., Osman, M. H. B. M., & Rashid, M. A. (2010). Enterprising behavior of enterprise-less rural women entrepreneurs of Khyber Pukhtan Khawa of Pakistan. European Journal of Social Sciences, 18(1), 109-119.
Ahmad, N., & Seymour, R. G. (2008). Defining entrepreneurial activity: Definitions supporting frameworks for data collection. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(3), 313-330.
Barwa, S. D. (2003). Impact of Start Your Business (SYB) training on women entrepreneurs in Vietnam. Hanoi: ILO Office in Vietnam.
Bolton, B., & Thompson, J. L. (2002). The entrepreneur in focus: Achieve your potential. Cengage Learning.
Brush, C. G., & Cooper, S. Y. (2012). Female entrepreneurship and economic development: An international perspective. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(1-2), 1-6.
Calás, M. B., & Smircich, L. (1989). Using the F Word: Feminist theories and the social consequences of organizational research. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 1989, No. 1, pp. 355-359). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Fasci, M. A., & Valdez, J. (1998). A performance contrast of male-and female-owned small accounting practices. Journal of Small Business Management, 36(3), 1.
Galindo-Martín, M. A., Castano-Martinez, M. S., & Méndez-Picazo, M. T. (2020). The relationship between green innovation, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. Sustainability, 12(11), 4467. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114467
Hatthakijphong, P., & Ting, H.-I. (2019). Prioritizing successful entrepreneurial skills: An emphasis on the perspectives of entrepreneurs versus aspiring entrepreneurs. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 34, 100603. DOI: 10.1016/j.tsc.2019.100603
Kabeer, N. (1999). Resources, agency, achievements: Reflections on the measurement of women's empowerment. Development and Change, 30(3), 435-464.
Khan, A. K. (2017). Role of government in enhancing women entrepreneurship in Pakistan. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 5(2), 5-13.
Khan, Z., & Hashmi, S. H. (2015). Opportunities and challenges for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 28(2), 119-135.
Manzano, I. R. (2021). Gender Equality and Women's Leadership for Sustainable Development. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 104, 42-50.
McGowan, P., Redeker, C. L., Cooper, S. Y., & Greenan, K. (2012). Female entrepreneurship and the management of business and domestic roles: Motivations, expectations and realities. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(1-2), 53-72.
Morris, M. H., Miyasaki, N. N., Watters, C. E., & Coombes, S. M. (2006). The dilemma of growth: Understanding venture size choices of women entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management, 44(2), 221-244.
Qureshi, M. U. (2016). Women entrepreneurship in Pakistan: Challenges and prospects. The Pakistan Development Review, 55(4), 657-675.
Ramzan, M., Riaz, S., & Zia, U. R. (2017). Challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Pakistan: Evidence from qualitative analysis. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 11(3), 789-808.
Saeed, S., Yousafzai, S. Y., & Yani-De-Soriano, M. (2015). Women entrepreneurs in Pakistan: How social norms and environmental barriers affect business performance. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(3), 195-217.
Starcher, D.C. (1996). Women entrepreneurs: Catalysts for transformation.
http://www.ebbbf.org/woman.htm
Stoner, C. R., Hartman, R. I., & Arora, R. (1990). Work-home role conflict in female owners of small businesses: An exploratory study. Journal of Small Business Management, 28(1), 30.
Tambunan, T. T. H. (2017). Women Entrepreneurs in MSEs in Indonesia: Their Motivations and Main Constraints. International Journal of Gender and Women’s Studies, 5(1). DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v5n1a9
Vossenberg, S. (2013). Women Entrepreneurship Promotion in Developing Countries: What explains the gender gap in entrepreneurship and how to close it? Working Papers No. 2013/08, Maastricht School of Management.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Maham Tahir, Faiz Younas, Vicar Solomon
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction
and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the Journal website at (https://iprpk.com/ojs/index.php/jpap)
