Patterns of entrepreneurship of Arab women in Israel

Purpose – Drawing upon the disadvantage theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate patterns of entrepreneurship evolving under conditions of double discrimination characterizing the situation of Arab women entrepreneurs in Israel. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive questionnaire was administered in 2006 to a sample of 405 Arab‐Muslim women entrepreneurs in the northern and southern “triangle” of Israel. The authors used a snowball convenient method, contacting business women in the “triangle” area by word of mouth. Based on data provided by the Center of Fostering Entrepreneurship (in Hebrew “MATI”) in Bakka el Garbia, it was assumed that about 80 percent of all Arab women business owners in this particular area had been reached. Findings – In line with the literature, it was found that under conditions of double discrimination a rather traditional type of entrepreneurship evolves, but the authors' findings do not confirm that these businesses are necessarily marginal and illegal. Instead the authors found a variety of types; the majority of which the authors would call community‐based traditional micro‐enterprises. Originality/value – The paper adds to the understanding of entrepreneurial patterns emerging under conditions of discrimination. It is believed to be one of the very first studies directly investigating a large group of Arab women entrepreneurs in Israel; therefore the understanding of the personal and business characteristics of these women is of major importance.