Difficulties facing women entrepreneurs in Israel: a social stratification approach

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore the difficulties facing entrepreneurs in three groups of women in Israel: immigrant women from the Former Soviet Union (FSU), women belonging to the Palestinian Israeli minority and Jewish Israeli women belonging to the majority population. Relying on the stratification approach, the authors investigate the extent to which labor market, resource and women-specific disadvantages constrain women's entrepreneurship within these three groups. Design/methodology/approach – The target research population consisted of 477 women entrepreneurs who operated businesses between 2009 and 2010. Using systematic sampling, the authors surveyed 148 FSU immigrant women business owners, 150 Jewish Israeli women business owners and 170 Palestinian Israeli women business owners, using a comprehensive questionnaire administered in the entrepreneurs' native language. Findings – The authors found similarities and differences between the three groups as to their ability to handle difficulties deriving from labor market, resource and women-specific disadvantages. Overall, the authors found that Palestinian women entrepreneurs have relatively more difficulties than the other two groups. Research limitations/implications – Women entrepreneurs' socio-political status within stratified social realities imposes constraints on their economic activities. Further research should investigate policies, which could assist in overcoming these constraints taking into consideration similarities and differences between specific groups. Originality/value – In addition to shedding light on the impact of socio-political environmental circumstances on women entrepreneurs in a particular country, the authors believe that applying the social stratification approach is especially valuable at the intersection of minority status, gender and entrepreneurship.