A socio-economic perspective on women entrepreneurs: Evidence from Turkey

Abstract

Within the context of globalization where women's labour force participation and employment rates have grown all over the world where as Turkey differs from most countries with no increase in the growth women's labor force participation. This situation is associated with a low demand for female labour as well as with socio-cultural factors limiting the supply of female labour. Women entrepreneurs in Turkey have problems in various common problems like social and cultural surroundings difficulties in finance insufficient education and too much burden as family responsibilities at home. It is observed that the most women entrepreneurs focused on service sector because of their education managerial experience and risk tolerance. This paper is a review article that highlights some the key differences between male and female entrepreneurs and also examines gender discrimination in the Turkish labour market. A critical evaluation of the literature revealed that female entrepreneurs often have similar reasons for starting their own businesses. Special attention is given here to theoretical and empirical literature of the gender discrimination in Turkey where traditional and cultural beliefs are still widespread and impact on labour force participation rates and enterpreneurialship. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.