Women Entrepreneurs in Turkey: Obstacles, Potentials, and Prospects

Şemsa Özar

Chapter 9 in Women, Work and Welfare in the Middle East and North Africa:The Role of Socio-demographics, Entrepreneurship and Public Policies, 2016, pp 235-262 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: The male-dominated social structure in Turkey constitutes a serious barrier to women's entrepreneurship. Gender discrimination experienced by women in the private as well as the public sphere significantly limits their visible participation in the economic life outside their homes. A sample survey of nearly 5,000 Turkish micro and small enterprises (MSEs), 6 percent of them led by women, shows that women's businesses tend to be very small. Nearly half are in trade and one-third are in industry. Many of the one-person women's enterprises are in home-based manufacturing. Women entrepreneurs tend to be younger and have more education than men entrepreneurs, and about half of the women entrepreneurs were employed as wage earners before starting their own businesses. Virtually none of them made use of credit for starting their businesses and very few had access to business support services of any kind. Recommendations are made for improving the environment for women's MSEs, including establishing a Women's Entrepreneurship Center.

Keywords: Middle East and North Africa; Women's Welfare; Gender Studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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