Ghanaian Female Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Canada: Experiences, Challenges, and Coping Strategies

Abstract

Immigrant women of African descent face series of injustices in the process of integrating into the host society, particularly in the labour market because they are women and minorities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences, challenges, and strategies of these female immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada. Using snowball sampling and in-depth interview, principally these women go into entrepreneurship due to family considerations. Furthermore, there are several injustices that the women face, such as race regarding the colour of skin, and the accented manner they speak English. The study also finds that Ghanaian women entrepreneurs have developed coping strategies through the building of networks, determination, and "faceless" business transactions to overcome the inequalities, and to win and maintain clients and expand their business.

Insights on the glass ceiling for immigrant women entrepreneurs in the technology sector

“…For example, WEs emphasize their appearance and concentrate on projecting a professional presence through their clothing, hair, the way they communicate, and their work ethic (Marlow and McAdam, 2015;Haseki et al, 2020). Competitive entrepreneurs are expected to hold individual characteristics, such as determination, work ethic, resilience, trustworthiness, perseverance, flexibility, and professionalism (Orser et al, 2012;Martin et al, 2015;Nkrumah, 2016;Kuschel and Lepeley, 2016a;Andrejuk, 2018;Sritanyarat and Sakdiyakorn, 2020;Haseki et al, 2020). WEs try to develop and use these competitive characteristics to showcase confidence, avoid discrimination and language barriers, handle competition and avoid stereotyping.…”

Female Immigrant Entrepreneurs: More Than a Family Strategy

“…In a similar vein, while focussing on immigrant women in self‐employment, some studies have highlighted “the various injustices regarding gender, race and language (accent) that these women have experienced in their entrepreneurial activities”, as Nkrumah (: 60) wrote with reference to self‐employed Ghanaian women in Canada.…”

African Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa: Exploring Their Economic Contributions

“…Another dimension of literature in the field of immigrant entrepreneurship posits that entrepreneurial contributions are higher amongst male immigrant entrepreneurs than amongst the female. Evidence from studies in the field of immigrant entrepreneurship represents immigrant women -specifically those of African origin -as additional agents of economic contributions (Bennett & Dann, 2005;Nkealah, 2011;Nkrumah, 2016;O'Neill & Viljoen, 2001;Yetim, 2008). Nkrumah (2016) perceives the underrepresentation of immigrant women in most empirical studies as a cultural and political injustice, which removes women from equal representation over the past decades.…”

“…Evidence from studies in the field of immigrant entrepreneurship represents immigrant women -specifically those of African origin -as additional agents of economic contributions (Bennett & Dann, 2005;Nkealah, 2011;Nkrumah, 2016;O'Neill & Viljoen, 2001;Yetim, 2008). Nkrumah (2016) perceives the underrepresentation of immigrant women in most empirical studies as a cultural and political injustice, which removes women from equal representation over the past decades. Explaining it from the cultural perspective, it is a common cultural phenomenon in the Africa continent that men are regarded as breadwinners while women are to look after the house when men are gone.…”

“…Protagonist of the feminist theory differs with the cultural views by arguing that, perhaps because of ignorance and lack of education in many societies in past, put men on high migratory trends than women. Nowadays, education and awareness has been created in many societies which have seen impacts in the migratory trends with many women being part of the process, hence they have been noted to play significant roles in the economic contributions of their host nations (Nkealah, 2011;Nkrumah, 2016).…”