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Women’s Experiences of Micro-Enterprise: Contexts and Meanings

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Abstract

The article confronts global claims of micro-enterprise to promote poverty reduction and gender equality. The article examines 60 in-depth interviews with low-income Palestinian and Israeli Jewish women (aged 25–45 years) who engaged in micro-enterprises. The research particularly focused on women’s motivations, personal qualities required for success, systemic barriers and opportunities, and women’s constructions of micro-enterprise as a means to overcome poverty and achieve gender equality. The article indicates that in the frame of gender and economic exclusionary context, without comprehensive institutional support, micro-enterprise and self employment may not promise more than a partial solution to poverty and gender discrimination. The article questions the tendency to globalize policies without taking into account the local contexts in which these policies are implemented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Roni Strier

  2. Department of Medicine, Al-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine

    Ziad Abdeen

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  1. Roni Strier
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  2. Ziad Abdeen
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Correspondence to Roni Strier.

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Strier, R., Abdeen, Z. Women’s Experiences of Micro-Enterprise: Contexts and Meanings. Sex Roles 61, 566–579 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9642-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9642-4

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