Women, Business and Self-Employment: A Conceptual Minefield

Abstract

The past decade has seen a considerable increase of interest among social scientists in the small business and self-employed sectors of the economy. Despite this, relatively little is known even at a descriptive level about the extent of women’s participation. The conditions under which they become self- employed or start a small business, where they are located in the market geographically and financially, what types of establishment they run, whether they differ from other women in terms of personal characteristics and how their experiences compare to men’s are all areas requiring research.