Ethnic minority migrant women entrepreneurs and the imperial imprimatur

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the work experiences of ethnic minority migrant Indian women and their reasons for entering entrepreneurship in post‐colonial New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach

Over a period of five years, in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 45 Indian women migrant entrepreneurs in New Zealand. A total of approximately 50 hours of interviews with 200 hours of transcription and member checks contributed to the understanding of these women. The interpretations were enhanced by congruence of ethnicity and gender of the researcher‐author.

Findings

The qualitative interviews surfaced issues of being non‐white, exclusionary employment practices and negotiating post‐colonial New Zealand in order to follow the migrant dream despite the prevalence of softwares of colonialism in the mindset of the host country.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in one country (New Zealand) on one ethnicity (Indian); hence, there needs to be caution in generalizing the findings for other ethnic minority women and in other post‐colonial countries.

Practical implications

The research focuses on the experiences of educated ethnic minority women who are often marginalized based on their visible diversity discriminators, despite efforts by the New Zealand Government to create an equitable non‐racialized society.

Originality/value

The paper is a powerful reminder of the need to understand the layered reality of ethnic minority women and to reduce the gap between policy and action.

Citation

Pio, E. (2007), "Ethnic minority migrant women entrepreneurs and the imperial imprimatur", Women in Management Review, Vol. 22 No. 8, pp. 631-649. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420710836317