Managing Super Diverse Women Entrepreneurs in Aotearoa New Zealand

Date
2016-09-16
Authors
Karmokar, S
Supervisor
Item type
Conference Contribution
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited
Abstract

New Zealand, like other countries, is becoming an increasingly multicultural society. Diversity of New Zealand has rapidly increased in the last ten years with 34 percent of the current population being Maori, Asian and Pacific community. We can see the reflection of super diversity in many areas of productivity, investment and particularly in innovation and entrepreneurial areas. Diversity has resulted in varied personal strengths such as language skills, social, cultural and international connections that can be channelled into entrepreneurship and easily transferable to New Zealand economy. New Zealand needs to adjust fast and invest in measures and programs to ensure we maximise the benefits of super diverse women population. These calls for a multi-voiced ``diversity'' discourse that would focus attention on the local demographics, cultural and political differences that adds value for entrepreneurial activities. As a country, New Zealand has acknowledged the influence of women on its growth and prosperity. Women entrepreneurs play a crucial role in country's economy, in terms of generating revenue and jobs, and creating an inclusive society; yet the entrepreneurial research to address diversity and promote entrepreneurial activities is largely invisible or marginal in mainstream entrepreneurship research. Despite a number of barriers, migrant women entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing group of business owners in advanced economies. In this paper, we aim to address the diversity of the women entrepreneurs and an attempt to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon by identifying and providing an overview of the possible barriers faced by diverse women entrepreneurs. It also explores challenges facing women entrepreneurs and various ethnic and cultural resources utilised by them to overcome such challenges. This paper will offer insights towards building a more inclusive framework for women’s entrepreneurship at a grass root level. Practical implication for future research and practice will be outlined.

Description
Keywords
Women entrepreneurship; Diversity; New Zealand; Maori; Ethnic community
Source
Proceedings of The 11th European Conference on   Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 15‐16 September 2016, The JAMK University of Applied Science, Jyväskylä, Finland. p. 365-370.
DOI
Rights statement
Copyright The Authors, 2016. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors.
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