Sustainability of Women-Owned, Culture-Based Indigenous Businesses

Abstract

The business world today is diverse and often defined not only on the basis of products and services offered, but also on the basis of cultural influences and even the gender of the owner. With this in mind, when we look at women business owners, we can see that they not only represent this diversity but are also symbols of resilience and ambassadors of their culture. Historically and in present times as well, women have always played a foundational role in the perpetuation of culture and heritage in areas such as food, textiles, handicrafts, and the perpetuation of education relating to culture and language, but we also see that these contributions are born mostly from a domestic capacity and within male-dominated institutions. Subsequently, we find that many women-owned indigenous businesses are a result of this traditional role held by them for centuries past, often in an unrecognised capacity. We cannot solve these problems using the same way of thinking that caused them in the first case and the unique perspective that women bring to the table is the way forward.