Immigrant entrepreneurship and gender dimensions: A systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: This paper discusses whether the gender dimension of immigrants influences their entrepreneurial activities in host societies. Human capital theory, social capital theory, and disadvantage theory are used to explore immigrant entrepreneurship and its understanding as a migration research field worthy of more attention. Design/methodology: A systematic review of the literature is used, selecting articles from Scopus, Jstor, Elsevier, Research, Web of Science, Google Scholar databases, Taylor & Francis Online and Google’s search engine. The studies obtained between 2000 and 2021 were screened, and only those measuring the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants on the basis of gender were included in the final data set. The revision of the selected paper provides deductive perspectives on a common trend in immigrant entrepreneurship from a gender perspective. Findings: Out of 200 studies, only 20 fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Throughout these 20 studies, it was found that female immigrant entrepreneurs face many challenges in sustaining their businesses based on human capital, social capital, and disadvantage perspectives, as well as obtaining family support for their business activities. In some host societies, immigrant women entrepreneurs face discrimination not only because of gender but also because of discrimination on the basis of race. The dominance of male migrants in the host societies continues. Social implications: Female immigrant entrepreneurs face more difficulties than male immigrants in terms of human capital skills and possessing sufficient social capital skills to create an enterprise. Therefore, the study implies that destination countries(which are defined as those countries receiving immigrants and offering them domocile) should have start-up visa programs, specialized business incubator and accelerator programs, outreach and incentive programs, and other governmental strategies used to draw high-potential immigrant entrepreneurs. Originality/value: In this study, we specifically consider female immigrant enterprises to be as important as male enterprises in supporting the social and economic integration of immigrants. On the other hand, this study also shows the disadvantages female immigrant entrepreneurs face before and after establishing a business and starting their entrepreneurial activities