Gender marginalisation and entrepreneurial motivation in the global south.

Onoshakpor, Chioma; James, Imaobong; Ibukun, Tolulope; Irene, Bridget

Abstract

The issues of gender marginalisation and entrepreneurial motivation are increasingly gaining interest in management, mainly to address social and gender exclusion. This paper explores the perceived differences in the motivating factors for women and men in choosing entrepreneurship as a career in a Global South economy (Nigeria). In entrepreneurship, motivation research mainly analyses an individual's motive for starting a business, which consists of the internal and external driving force of a series of behaviours in the process. These driving forces for entrepreneurship are typically divided into push- and pull aspects. Push factors include unemployment, financial hardship, and poverty, while pull factors are the favourable elements that entice people to become entrepreneurs, such as recognising an opportunity. Research identifies that individuals are motivated to become entrepreneurs for various reasons, including financial success, status, self-realisation, marriage dissolution, and the presence of an opportunity. These multiple reasons present an interesting basis for analysis in a country still perceived to experience gender marginalisation, namely Nigeria. Although attempts have been made to contend with gender marginalisation, women in Nigeria are mostly impacted by gender inequality and discrimination. This has implications for the achievement of Goal 5 of the SDGs, which sets out clearly the need to promote women's rights to economic resources and the empowerment of all women and girls. Additionally, the concept of equal opportunities for the enhancement of sustainable human development advocates a level playing ground for all, irrespective of gender. Most research on gender marginalisation has tended to focus on the Global North, which may not apply to the Global South. Furthermore, it is yet unknown whether the push- and pull factors that motivate entrepreneurship in developing countries differ based on gender. It is essential to draw attention to these gender inequalities, mainly because of factors that motivate women and how they operate their enterprises. This study builds on social movement theory and push and pull theory to explore the differences in the factors that affect men and women's choice of entrepreneurship as a career, especially in a region characterised by patriarchy. The primary data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 30 male and female entrepreneurs from Nigeria. The data were analysed both inductively and intuitively, using an adapted grounded theory analysis. We developed a robust understanding of different factors that motivate men and women to choose entrepreneurship in Nigerian society, and examined if this impacts the type and magnitude of businesses run by women entrepreneurs. Preliminary findings indicate that most women choose entrepreneurship due to necessity, fuelled by how society has failed them by creating a job market that excludes them. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the factors that influence the start of entrepreneurship and how this influences the type and size of businesses run by women entrepreneurs, in Nigeria specifically. This study's novelty lies in its focus on the widened gender inequality gap in entrepreneurship caused by the types of businesses run by female entrepreneurs, which can be traced down to the marginalisation of women in the Global South.

Citation

ONOSHAKPOR, C., JAMES, I., IBUKUN, T. and IRENE, B. 2023. Gender marginalisation and entrepreneurial motivation in the global south. Presented at the 6th Gender, work and organization conference 2023 (GWO2023): marginalised gender identities: how can intellectual activism transform work and organization, 28-30 June 2023, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: 6th Gender, work and organization conference 2023 (GWO2023): marginalised gender identities: how can intellectual activism transform work and organization
• Conference Location: Stellenbosch, South Africa
• Start Date: Jun 28, 2023
• End Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Keywords: Entrepreneurial motivation; Gender marginalisation; Social movement theory; Push and pull theory; Global south; Women entrepreneurship
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1893843
• Additional Information: An abstract for this paper was published in a book of abstracts as:; ONOSHAKPOR, C., JAMES, I., IBUKUN, T. and IRENE, B. 2023. Gender marginalisation and entrepreneurial motivation in the global south. In the 6th Gender, work and organization conference 2023 (GWO2023): marginalised gender identities: how can intellectual activism transform work and organization book of abstracts, 28-30 June 2023, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online], stream 22.12, page 358. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/sefnj3cf