Trailblazer Talk: Precarious Migrant Entrepreneurship: Gendered Dynamics for Migrants in the UK

As part of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship’s (CREME) 20^th anniversary celebrations CREME are hosting a guest seminar with Dr María Villares-Varela, Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Southampton.

Date: Tuesday 24^th September 2024

Time: 09:30-11:30

Location: John Cadbury House, Aston University

Trailblazer Talk: Precarious Migrant Entrepreneurship: Gendered Dynamics for Migrants in the UK (with Carolynn Low) – Emphasising ongoing debates on in-work poverty by exploring entrepreneurship as a less-studied form of labour market integration for marginalised workers.

Studies on immigrant entrepreneurship has examined how becoming an entrepreneur can serve as an alternative to unemployment, a means of escaping precarious paid employment, a way to achieve professional aspirations, and a method of gaining control over daily work-life. Despite these potential benefits, research indicates that migrant entrepreneurs often earn modest returns from their businesses, which can result in experiencing ‘in-work’ poverty as entrepreneurs. While in-work poverty has been primarily studied in the context of paid employment, there is limited research connecting it to business activity, and even less so in the context of migrant entrepreneurship. Among the factors mitigating this precarity, the involvement of family members in the business can help cushion some of the challenges. Findings suggest that migrant entrepreneurs navigate their precarious working conditions by restructuring family dynamics and incorporating shared resources into their domestic lives, thereby alleviating some of the pressures on their businesses.

Register your free place here.