Transcript Document

When Is Enterprise A Viable Option
For Women Far From the Labour
Market?
Dr Julia Rouse
Chair, Gender and Enterprise Network
Director, MMUBS CBS Clusters
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Projects: My Journey
• Personal background
• Longitudinal studies of:
– Youth enterprise programme
– New Entrepreneur Scholarship programme
– Entrepreneur maternity
• Recently with Oxfam and other stakeholders:
– ‘Empowering British Bangladeshi Women Through
Small Enterprise’
– Beginning to explore Universal Credits…..
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Business Planning Under Enterprise
Programmes: A New Me!
• Empowerment by writing oneself into a new
opportunity
Raises aspirations and confidence
Provides new status
Develops some skills
Legitimation of new identity by authoritative figures
in enterprise programmes
And then?
• Business launch – using start-up funds to ‘be’ a new
you!
• Business trading – often more tricky because markets
are different to what we imagine and competitive……..
 Follow-on support is rare
• Enterprise programmes may not have to report outcomes…
• Outcome evidence is scarce and may be unreliable
So what happens? Youth Enterprise:
• Trading! but:
• Poor business ideas, poor markets
• Childcare and maternity barriers
• Inadequate business skills, networks and funding
• Dangers:
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Debt
Mental health / family problems
Persevering in a ‘no;low hope’ business
Informal trading
Youth Enterprise: Left Holding the Baby!
• Childcare invisible in business plans
– Complex private childcare plans
organising and transporting between multiple carers
shift parenting
part-time trading, flexible hours
trade/care simultaneously
• Business trading: collapse of childcare strategies
– Withdrawal of informal support; risky coping strategies
– Business failure
Also: Pregnancy!
 My motivation to research entrepreneur
pregnancy
 Raises questions about:
 Family planning
 Regulations
 Market behaviour
 Coping strategies
Individualised Nature of Business
Struggle/Failure
• “Must be me”
– “I am a failure”
– “All I need to do is learn and start again”
• May be true in some instances, but resources are now
more constrained….
• Commissioners are unaware and unaccountable
• Individualised: no empowerment via collective action
New Entrepreneur Scholarship
Programme
• Under-capitalisation (median £5,825 v. UK £15k)
Despite £3,500 grant
Low reliance on personal savings and banks
High dependence on family/friend loans and credit
cards
• Particularly for economically inactive and poorly
educated (= class?)
– But no gender difference
NES: Effect on businesses
• Second wave evaluation (average 29 months old):
Median turnover £18k; median drawings £3600.
Trade without premises, partner or sub-contractors.
Are These National Patterns?
• Probably, Yes!
– Class and – particularly - gender affect life course
pathways to business start-up
– Entrepreneur earnings are higher if:
• There is personal and friends/family money to invest.
• Long hours are possible due to freedom from housework
and childcare.
Should We Abandon ‘Enterprise
Inclusion’ Policy?
• Rob McDonald: yes – it is an unfair individualisation of
the problem of poverty and disguises underlying
inequalities.
• Frances Greene: yes – it is bad for regional productivity.
• Me: but what if women want to try it (and have few
alternatives) – shouldn’t we campaign and innovate?
Oxfam: British Bangladeshi Women
Sophie Fosker, Oxfam UK Poverty Programme
Empowering British Bangladeshi
Women Through Small Enterprise?
• Analysis of two small projects
• Interviews with women
• Wider ‘engaged scholarship’
• Creative analysis of ways forward….
British Bangladeshi Women
• Men: 89.8% economically active
17% self-employed.
• Women:
41.8% economically active (v. 74% white women)
19% unemployed (v. 14% white women)
22% employed (v. half of white women)
c.1-2% self-employed (v. 9% white women)
Context: Enterprise Support
• Large contracts for ‘streamlined’ services
• Relative disconnect from other institutions – Sure Start,
health care, FE, CAB
Weak pathways for accruing resources
• New Enterprise Allowance but targeted at unemployed
• Trial of Universal Credits……..
Uncertain/difficult to access advice
Community Host A / Project A
• Bangladeshi women’s organisation 30yrs +
1. 12 week business programme in English
– Ironing business considered but dropped
2. Sewing projects:
– Designer handbags
– Cheap bags and clothes for the local community
• Unprofitable; no longer trading or meeting
Community Host B / Project B
• Host supports deprived community – particularly British
Bangladeshi women
• 10 week pre-enterprise programme
– Inconsistent attendance
– Initial business ideas
• Take-away, scarves or traditional crafts retail, henna
The Women We Interviewed
• Project A (3)
– First generation migrants from rural Bangladesh resident
in the UK for 19-39 years
• Project B (5)
– First generation migrants from different areas of
Bangladeshi resident in the UK for 11-28 years
– One second generation migrant
• Strong desire for economic activity
Remember: Entrepreneurship Is…
the mobilisation of resources in (profitable) market
exchange
The Women’s Resources
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English language: varied (but often poor)
Education: limited or unrecognised for migrants
Recent work experience: scarce
Networks: highly constrained
Money: varied (if any) control; families under pressure
Skills/competing roles: housewife, mother,
carer, hostess
The Programmes: Resource Enhacing?
• Knowledge – business planning
• Skills – sewing (Proj. A); not modern workplace skills,
accrediting domestic skills or business development
• Networks – internal to the programme
• Money – no start-up fund (Project A materials covered);
welfare assistance unclear
• Other responsibilities - unchallenged
The Programme: Resource Mobilising?
• Emergent business ideas and some test trading
• Attempt to share richer networks: handbag project
• Limited:
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exposure to markets and networks
drawing in partners
adapting what can be done with resources at hand
challenge of unrealistic ideas
Outcomes
• Engaged with community organisations
• Enjoyment/confidence building; aspiration raising
• Marginal skill and network development
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Low/no returns for work
Unknown effect on vital welfare entitlements
Debt? (Start-up of retail shop on £3-4k?)
‘Island’ programme with transient effect?
Proposal: Innovation!
• Investing in Integrating and Innovating Pathways to
Enterprise
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Commitment from multiple institutions (linking/enhancing)
‘Effectual’ business development support
Welfare pathway to enterprise from ‘economic inactivity’
Empowering women to campaign for the support they need
• Short-term priority
– Investigating the effect of Universal Credits on the selfemployed
Workshop Discussion
1. Should business start-up be promoted to women far
from the labour market?
If yes: why?
If no: why?
2. What innovations could improve outcomes?
3. What do you think about Julia’s policy proposals?