Barriers to ethnic minority and women’s enterprise: existing evidence, policy tensions and unsettled questions

Carter, S. , Mwaura, S., Ram, M., Trehan, K. and Jones, T. (2015) Barriers to ethnic minority and women’s enterprise: existing evidence, policy tensions and unsettled questions. International Small Business Journal, 33(1), pp. 49-69. (doi: 10.1177/0266242614556823)

Abstract

This article presents an overarching review of the evidence regarding enterprise diversity. It discusses the context of ethnic minorities and women in enterprise and summarises research evidence relating to their relative access to finance, market selection and management skills. Policy within the field of diversity and enterprise is characterised by a number of tensions and unresolved questions including the presence of perceived or actual discrimination, the quantity and quality of ethnic minority and women-led businesses, potential market failure in the support provided to diverse enterprises and the substantive uniqueness of ethnic minority and women-led enterprises. Particular implications for policy and practice as well as directions for future research are discussed.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Carter, Professor Sara
• Authors: Carter, S., Mwaura, S., Ram, M., Trehan, K., and Jones, T.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences
• Journal Name: International Small Business Journal
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0266-2426
• ISSN (Online): 1741-2870
• Published Online: 18 January 2015
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in International Small Business Journal 33(1): 49-69
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License