Immigration and entrepreneurship: narratives of women’s entrepreneurship in the Indian diaspora

Venue: Seminar Room, Australia India Institute

Presenters: Erin Watson-Lynn

Australia has a history of migrants arriving from India dating back to the early 19th century. Today, India is Australia’s largest source of migrants. While some research has explored the experiences of the diaspora in Australia, there is an absence of literature that examines the experiences from the perspective of Indian women. Research demonstrates that for women who have migrated from India to western countries, entrepreneurship enables women to manage family responsibilities, increase their economic capital, and to renegotiate relationships within the family and the broader diaspora community. Additionally, entrepreneurship is one way to overcome ethnic marginalisation in the labour market and subsequent underemployment. However, other research from India and Australia tells us that gender, caste, and class influence women’s motivations to enter self-employment, perceived business outcomes and the everyday experience of entrepreneurship.

The purpose of this talk is to explore immigration and entrepreneurship among first generation migrant women from India. Nine case studies were conducted including a demographic survey, a narrative interview and a field observation. Emerging findings support the propositions that gendered norms and class influence women’s decision to establish an enterprise and its operations.

Erin Watson-Lynn is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Ph.D. Candidate in economic sociology at Monash University.

*A light lunch will be provided, therefore registration is essential!

from
https://events.unimelb.edu.au/events/6371-immigration-and-entrepreneurship-narratives-of-women-s-entrepreneurship-in-the-indian