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1 – 10 of over 17000Sittiwat Kamkatwong and Brian H. Kleiner
Defines discrimination under the law before covering issues such as the glass ceiling and employment at will. Considers the present concerns of increased competition and workforce…
Abstract
Defines discrimination under the law before covering issues such as the glass ceiling and employment at will. Considers the present concerns of increased competition and workforce diversity. Profile some best practices which are being developed by some financial companies before covering new regulations in the securities industry.
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This study establishes a baseline for the mortgage industry's beliefs and attitudes about race, culture, and discrimination in mortgage banking and determines if these attitudes…
Abstract
This study establishes a baseline for the mortgage industry's beliefs and attitudes about race, culture, and discrimination in mortgage banking and determines if these attitudes vary by race. Through survey research, the data reveals that race matters in the lending arena.
The purpose of this paper is to test whether Australian female and male entrepreneurs differ in their growth aspirations and demand for finance; denial, discouragement and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test whether Australian female and male entrepreneurs differ in their growth aspirations and demand for finance; denial, discouragement and financial constraint rates; and sources of finance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies logistic regression techniques to data drawn from a comprehensive survey of Australian small‐ and medium‐sized businesses, which was conducted in 2010.
Findings
After controlling for a wide range of firm, owner and risk characteristics, female entrepreneurs are found to have lower growth aspirations than males but do not differ in their demand for business finance. Gender does not influence the probability of reporting denial, discouragement or financial constraint. Females and males do not differ significantly in the types of finance that they use.
Research limitations/implications
The online survey had a low response rate.
Originality/value
First, the paper tests the proposition that gender mediates demand for finance whilst controlling for a wide range of firm, owner and risk variables. Second, the paper tests whether female entrepreneurs are more likely than males to be financially constrained, that is, to have foregone viable investment opportunities due to inadequate access to finance. In doing so, it endeavours to reconcile the financial discrimination and financial constraint literatures. Third, the paper tests whether gender produces its effects in interaction with owners' migration status.
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Melanie Lindsay Straiton, Kamila Angelika Hynek and Alexander Nissen
Post-migration stress is an important aspect of refugees’ mental health, but little is known about the relationship with insomnia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the…
Abstract
Purpose
Post-migration stress is an important aspect of refugees’ mental health, but little is known about the relationship with insomnia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the assication between different post-migration stress factors and insomnia among Syrian refugees living in Norway.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analysed survey data from the REFUGE study with 873 Syrian adults who resettled in Norway between 2015 and 2017. Potential participants were randomly selected from The Norwegian Population Register. Insomnia was measured using the Bergen Insomnia Scale. Perceived-discrimination, navigation difficulties, financial strain and loss of social status were measured via the refugee post-migration stress scale. The authors ran logistic regression analyses, controlling for socio-demographics, potentially traumatic experiences and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Findings
Overall, 59% (95% CI, 56%–62%) of the sample reported experiencing insomnia. In the fully-adjusted model, only financial strain and navigation difficulties were significantly associated with increased odds of insomnia. Loss of social status was also related to insomnia but only before adjusting for symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Originality/value
Financial strain and navigation difficulties appear to be the most important post-migration stress factors in terms of insomnia among Syrian refugees living in Norway. Ameliorating these difficulties could potentially reduce insomnia among refugees. Since insomnia is a risk factor for the subsequent development of post-traumatic stress and depression, it is important to prevent or improve symptoms of insomnia among Syrian refugees, especially considering the high prevalence found in this study.
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Girish Joshi, Bindya Kohli and Sandeep Nalawade
This paper aims to investigate whether small finance banks (SFBs) in India are working towards financial inclusion through qualitative studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether small finance banks (SFBs) in India are working towards financial inclusion through qualitative studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a phenomenological approach in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with the employees of two SFBs in Mumbai with different specializations. Employee experience was captured to grasp, interpret and code data for the creation of different themes.
Findings
This research shows that the current literature on financial inclusion is inadequate to explain the behavior of the needy in India. Study found multiple themes of financial inclusion, namely, financial literacy, self-esteem, use of technology, prompt repayment, credit identity, cross-referencing and financial stability. Although overall results are positive, to generalize the results, SFBs need to spend some more time in business. The findings of this study can be of global benefit to micro-finance organizations of a similar scale to achieve financial inclusion and business improvement.
Research limitations/implications
This qualitative study was performed at a single location and with a limited sample size, which underlines the need for repeated exercises at multiple locations with a larger sample size to establish a broader logical generality. It also points out the need for a study of employee themes to enhance the business processes of SFBs.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this qualitative study is first attempt to figure out the extent of work done by SFBs in India in promoting financial inclusion. Themes related to financial inclusion can provide further thought process for policymakers for financial inclusion and business improvement. Findings refer not only to Indian organizations but also to small banks around the world to recognize the underpinnings of financial inclusion and what small banks and micro-finance institutions can do to make it meaningful.
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Hiroko Kawamorita, Yashar Salamzadeh, Ali Kahramanoğlu, Kürşat Demiryürek, Nur İlkay Abacı and Noriyuki Takahashi
This chapter addresses the impact of gendered social capital in developing countries to understand the barriers and opportunities to women's entrepreneurship with social capital…
Abstract
This chapter addresses the impact of gendered social capital in developing countries to understand the barriers and opportunities to women's entrepreneurship with social capital development and also to examine factors influencing the development of social capital for women and how the identified factors benefit the creation of their entrepreneurial activities. This study follows a systemic literature review to achieve the purpose of the research by examining the selected articles in both English and Turkish, followed by factor comparison between developing, developed countries, and world datasets obtained from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database. The finding shows that social capital strongly impacts the entrepreneurial activities among women entrepreneurs in developing countries, especially in Turkey. Although the academic and practical studies on this field were started about two decades ago in Turkey, it has faced a radical increase in last 5 years and many practitioners and scholars working on these concepts. The clusters in English and Turkish resources are almost the same; however, the density and number of key terms are much lower in Turkish literature which shows a gap for Turkish researchers to publish more in this field to examine variables for better view about women entrepreneurship and social capital related to it.
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Imène Berguiga and Philippe Adair
This paper aims to address the following research question: Is loan funding to female entrepreneurs in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco affected by self-selection from borrowers or/and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the following research question: Is loan funding to female entrepreneurs in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco affected by self-selection from borrowers or/and discrimination from lenders? This paper sheds light on empirical literature review, which displays mixed evidence.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a pooled sample of 3,896 businesses in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia drawn from the 2013 World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES). Despite selection biases and overweighing, the sample provides descriptive statistics upon gender ownership and gender management (human capital characteristics and financial data). The authors design two regression logistic models with interaction to investigate loan demand and loan granting with respect to self-selection vs discrimination. Female management is disentangled from female ownership with respect to entrepreneurship.
Findings
Neither self-selection nor discrimination affects female owners compared with their male counterparts, whereas female managers do self-select themselves. In as much as the WBES female subsample include several biases, the authors eventually emphasise the importance of the non-surveyed informal sector, which includes most (micro-)businesses, and loan funding provided by the microfinance industry to these female businesses. Microfinance fills the gap for working capital but not for fixed assets. The size of the business is a major factor explaining both self-selection and discrimination.
Research limitations/implications
Findings of this study have important policy implications for closing the gender gap in accessing finance. In addition to supply-side factors, demand-side factors should be addressed. Informality also needs to be addressed, as many micro and small enterprises owned or managed by women are informal entities without registration or/and social protection. One way to increase women's demand for financial services is to introduce financial products to meet their needs (e.g. social protection basic coverage). Governments can help develop these new products by strengthening the microfinance industry with a favourable regulatory and institutional framework. The authors also wonder about the extension of this study. Thus, a new cross-sectional analysis of the most recent surveys in the North African region would allow the authors to enlarge the overall sample and measure the evolution of the gender gap over time.
Originality/value
So far, funding female entrepreneurship remained little investigated in these North African countries. Several sampling biases in the WBES – small businesses underestimation and manufacturing industry overweighting, which have been overlooked so far, explain the absence of self-selection and discrimination. In contrast, size plays an important role. Hence, the focus on microenterprises (the informal sector) and the microfinance industry suggests indeed that female entrepreneurs operating in small businesses have to cope with both self-selection and discrimination.
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Hadi Esmaeilpour Moghadam and Arezou Karami
Women's financial empowerment (WFE) is one of the sustainable development goals. This research examines the effect of financial inclusion through FinTech (FIF) on WFE at the…
Abstract
Purpose
Women's financial empowerment (WFE) is one of the sustainable development goals. This research examines the effect of financial inclusion through FinTech (FIF) on WFE at the international level. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze the dataset of 113 countries from the Global Findex (2017) and World Bank databases using principal component analysis (PCA) and cross-sectional data methodology. Initially, they calculate the overall index for FIF with PCA. Then, they investigate the effect of FIF on WFE in two groups of countries classified by low and high levels of gender discrimination.
Findings
The results show that the relationship between FIF and WFE is positive and significant in countries classified by low levels of gender discrimination. However, this effect is insignificant in countries with high gender discrimination. Hence, gender inequality is a barrier and denies financial independence to women.
Research limitations/implications
Given these results, it seems unlikely that FinTech will be able to eliminate the gender gap in financial inclusion on its own for women's empowerment. To directly address the gender gap and alter attitudes and social norms across demographics, FinTech development may need to be supplemented with focused policy initiatives.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence of FIF's impact on WFE at the international level.
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