Migrant, Woman and Business Owner: a Heterogeneous Group with Diverse Needs Karen Haandrikman and Natasha A

K ULTURGEOGRAFISKT SEMINARIUM Migrant, woman and business owner: A heterogeneous group with diverse needs Karen Haandrikman and Natasha A. Webster 2020:1

Migrant, woman and business owner: A heterogeneous group with diverse needs

Karen Haandrikman and Natasha A. Webster

©Karen Haandrikman och Natasha Webster, Stockholms universitet 2020 Omslag: Saitong Kerdprasop

ISBN Print 978-91-87355-94-3 ISBN Online 978-91-87355-95-0

ISSN 0347-9552

Distributör: Kulturgeografiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet, Stockholm

Table of contents

1. Introduction ...... 1 2. Migrant entrepreneurship ...... 5 3. Who gets to be self-employed? ...... 7 4. Methods ...... 9 5. Results ...... 11 5.1 Results from register data: Who gets to be self-employed? ...... 11 5.2 Results from interviews: Processes shaping self-employment ...... 18 6. Conclusions ...... 27 7. Policy recommendations ...... 29 References ...... 31 Appendix Table 1. Descriptive statistics of self-employed and wage-employed migrant and native women, 2012 (%) ...... 35 Appendix Table 2. Logistic regression of self-employment versus wage-employment, migrant women, 2012 (%) ...... 37

Figures and Tables

Figure 1. Map of the 26 countries of origin of the women interviewed in the study ...... 10 Figure 2. Self-employment rates for women, 2012 ...... 11

Figure 3. Self-employment rates for women migrants by country of origin, 2012 ...... 12

Figure 4. Regression results for age, educational level and household position ...... 14

Figure 5. Regression results for grounds for settlement and region of origin ...... 15 Figure 6. Main employment sectors of self-employed women, 2012 ...... 17

Preface

This paper is based on the Formas-funded project “Opportunities and Obsta- cles: Identifying hidden resources and skills to promote entrepreneurship among migrant women in Swedish regions” (diarienummer 942-2015-663), run by Karen Haandrikman and Natasha Webster at the Department of Human Geography at Stockholm University. This current study is an English transla- tion of a book chapter written in Swedish for the book Framtidens Chefer - Nyanlända och utrikes födda kvinnors entreprenörskap, published in 2020 by the think tank Fores in Stockholm.

Stockholm, October 2020 Karen Haandrikman and Natasha Webster

Sammanfattning

Denna rapport undersöker möjligheterna och hindren för utrikes födda kvinnors entreprenörskap i Sverige, där både kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder kombineras för att undersöka komplexiteten i gruppens entreprenörskap. Syftet är att använda ett kritiskt genusperspektiv på entreprenörskap för att undersöka vilka utrikes födda kvinnor som blir egenföretagare och under- söka processerna som formar deras entreprenörskap. Vi gör detta genom att analysera registerdata och genom att presentera resultaten av våra 36 inter- vjuer med utrikes födda kvinnor och entreprenörer. Rapporten avslutas med rekommendationer baserade på vår studies resultat.

Studien kommer fram till att utrikes födda kvinnor oftare är egenföretagare än inrikes födda kvinnor, och att det är särskilt vanligt för kvinnor från Ne- derländerna, Kina, Polen och Storbritannien att vara egenföretagare. Utrikes födda kvinnor som är egenföretagare ofta har något slags lokalt socialt kapi- tal, såsom en svensk partner. De vanligaste branscherna för egenföretagande utrikes födda kvinnor är restauranger, städning och hårvård. Kvinnor som är egenföretagare värderar entreprenörskap högt. Tillgången till lokala resurser, såsom stödinsatser och arbetsmarknadsprogram, är ojämn. Utrikes födda kvinnor som är entreprenörer upplever dubbel diskriminering, som utrikes födda och som kvinnor.

Summary

The study examines migrant women’s entrepreneurship based on statistical analysis of register data and analysis of 36 economic life course interviews with migrant women entrepreneurs. We highlight the heterogeneity of migrant women’s entrepreneurship in Sweden and argue that the diversity of women’s experiences must be recognized by supporting policies and that policy supports and programs must reflect the range of entrepreneurial backgrounds, em- phasizing the need for long-term supports.

1. Introduction

More than 1 million immigrants have started a new life in Sweden since 1999. As a result, Sweden has transformed into a heterogeneous society with almost a fifth of the population born abroad. An increasing share of global migrants are women, and in Sweden, the share of women is especially high among family reunification migrants. In the last 15 years, migrants come from a range of backgrounds, for example as refugees from countries such as Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Iran and Afghanistan; as marriage migrants from Thailand; as EU citizens from Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Rumania; and as labour migrants and students from China and India. Economic integration is often seen as the most important pathway for immigrant integration and inclusion into society. Sweden now has one of the highest employment gaps between natives and immigrants in western countries, with unemployment and low wages being particularly common among non-European migrants, and especially so among women and family migrants1 (Bevelander and Irastorza 2014). Some migrants that may be locked out of the labour market opt to start their own businesses of necessity. For many migrant women entrepreneurs, discrimination and/or racism in society and the labour market has played a role in choosing entrepreneurship (Dannecker and Cakir 2016). In the Nordic context, migrant entrepreneurs may experience discrimination and disadvantage by being migrants and residing in marginalized areas (Yeasim 2016; Yeasim and Koivurova 2019). However, through becoming entrepreneurs, migrants not only earn a livelihood but also contribute to the general economy and to regional development. In contrast to other countries, self-employed migrants in Sweden have much lower incomes than wage-employed migrants (Andersson and Wadensjö 2004). Migrant women have it even harder than migrant men to get into the Swedish labour market (Bevelander and Irastorza 2014). Women make up 30 % of European entrepreneurs and in the EU, women dominate one-person enterprises (European Commission 2014). In Sweden, self-employment is more common for men than for women, but the share of entrepreneurs among migrant women is higher than among native women. However, in Sweden, only approximately 1 % of risk capital goes to women (as compared to 2 % in the US (Kanze et al. 2018)).

1 It should be pointed out here that, in a European perspective, Swedish women on average have very high employment rates. 1

Women and men have different start-up patterns, and migrant women entrepreneurs generally follow different start-up patterns from mainstream entrepreneurs (Berglund et al. 2013; Kushnirovich 2009). For instance, women are less keen on looking for external funders (Sena et al. 2012), less often receive governmental support but more often need assistance in network and mentoring support (Kushnirovich 2009). Some evidence suggests that new digital technologies may create opportunities for migrant women entrepreneurs (Webster and Zhang 2020). Furthermore, women are often motivated by different reasons than men in becoming self-employed. They are for instance less often motivated by profit but instead strive for self-fulfilment or achieving a better work-life balance (Carranza et al. 2018). Women generally are more often discriminated against in entrepreneurship for example by funders (Kanze et al. 2018). These differences imply a need for further explora- tion of migrant women entrepreneurs in Sweden who are doubly discriminated in the market; by being women and non-Swedish (Webster and Haandrikman 2017). This paper is based on a Formas funded project examining the opportunities and obstacles to women migrant entrepreneurship in Sweden, where both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined to explore the complexity of migrant women entrepreneurship. Our aim in this study is, using a gendered critical entrepreneurship perspective, to examine which migrant women become self-employed, and examine the processes shaping self-employment for migrant women. We do this by analysing register data, and by showcasing findings from our 36 interviews with migrant women entrepreneurs. The study finishes with policy recommendations based on our study findings.

In this study we show that: • Migrant women are more often self-employed than Swedish-born women. • There is a large variation in self-employment rates by country of origin with Dutch, Chinese, Polish and British women having the highest rates of self-employed women. • Self-employed migrant women, compared to wage-employed migrant women, more often are a little older and have some local social capital, such as having a Swedish partner. Asian and North American women are most likely to be self-employed, as well as EU, family and labour migrants. • The most common branches for self-employed migrant women are restaurants, cleaning and hairdressing. • Entrepreneurship is highly valued by migrant women choosing to be self- employed. • Gaining access to local resources, such as supports and labour market programs, is uneven. • Building a business requires time as integration and business development often happen hand-in-hand. 2

• Migrant women entrepreneurs experience double discrimination as migrants and as women.

What policy makers need to know: • There is a need for recognition of discrimination based on gender, migrant status, and/or race. • A better understanding of diverse entry points to entrepreneurship must be considered. • We need stronger recognition of the role of non-tech, smaller and at-home businesses. • Improved access to available resources, such as mentorship and other supports, for migrant entrepreneurs is needed. • Recognition of women’s capacities and competencies is needed in services and resources that entrepreneurs use, such as bank support, financial support, counselling and business programs. • Mentoring and support is needed after the start-up phase with an emphasis on growth and scaling-up. • Long-term meaningful policy encounters are needed.

2. Migrant entrepreneurship

In this section we place migrant women entrepreneurship in the wider literature on entrepreneurship and ethnic entrepreneurship, and use a gendered critical entrepreneurship perspective to situate migrant women entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship, or the process of starting and managing one’s own business, is nothing new2. Self-employment for migrants plays a crucial role in improving migrants’ labour market status and in the employment opportunities for migrant groups. Migrant or ethnic entrepreneurship has become one of the driving forces of both national and regional economies (Baycan-Levent and Nijkamp 2009). There are also many positive effects of migrant businesses on society in general; one example is how Thai food trucks and restaurants and foreign owned pizzerias have contributed economically, socially and culturally to Swedish society. Another example can be found in the care industry with migrant women entrepreneurs providing elderly care (Hedberg and Petterson 2012). Migrant businesses can also function as ‘launch points’ in that they help other migrants in getting information or finding jobs (Webster 2017). In research, entrepreneurship is a dominant economic discourse where individuals accumulate capital through their creativity, innovation and risk-taking. However, the process of starting a business is a social process as well, as information is to a large extent acquired via the personal networks of the starting entrepreneur and access to key resources, such as capital, may be hindrances or opportunities. This may be even more so for migrant women who may be excluded from mainstream networks or lack established financial histories in their new country. We also know that race, ethnicity and gender play an important role in how and why migrants start businesses. For instance, a recent report (Stockholm Administrative Board 2018) has shown that it is much harder for African Swedes to get into the labour market, to earn high wages and to reach higher positions than it is for native white people. Immigrant care workers from the global South experience discrimination through wages and occupational status (Behtoui et al. 2020). Women more often work in lower paid jobs and work

2 In this paper, we use the terms self-employment and entrepreneurship interchangeably; we do recognize the differences and overlaps between the concepts in academic literature. 5 in sectors with less potential. Migrant women are therefore doubly discriminated – for being a woman and for being a migrant (Webster and Haandrikman 2017).

3. Who gets to be self-employed?

In the entrepreneurship literature, both structural factors, such as social exclusion and discrimination, and associated reduced access to the labour market, as well as cultural factors, such as required norms, values, and networks among both natives and co-ethnics have been identified to impact ethnic entrepreneurship. Opportunities for migrant entrepreneurs have also been identified for example market opportunities or gaps, openness of institutions, and individual abilities to engage and learn (Kloosterman 2010). We know that there are clear male normative values in entrepreneurship, where risk, creativity and innovation are linked to the “masculine, white male heroic” picture, with entrepreneurs being heroic adventurers who are individ- ualistic, ruthless and aggressive (Hamilton 2013). We challenge these views using a feminist critique. If we take innovation as an example, this is often defined within and by male-dominated industries such as those in research and development (Pet- tersson and Lindberg 2013). In other words, being an entrepreneur is a privi- leged designation that boosts those that conform to the norm, while if you do not fit in this picture you remain a secondary group (Ahl 2006). Moreover, ethnic entrepreneurs are often quickly categorized as ‘Other’ without account- ing for the complexity of other factors such as gender, race, ethnicity or class (Högberg 2016; Romero and Valdez 2016). This has implications for understanding women’s economic contributions and how women entrepreneurs are seen. Activities that are entrepreneurial, creative, and show risk-taking and innovation may be hidden because of gender and ethnicity. For example, if you do not speak Swedish, you may be disadvantaged in starting your own business, while other talents remain hidden. Women, and especially migrant women, may be seen as not possessing the required skills for being an entrepreneur (Max and Ballereau 2013). Such oversights have consequences for how we understand women’s contributions, through their entrepreneurial activities, to the economy (Berglund et al. 2013; Carranza et al. 2018). The pre- dominance of the “white male hero discourse” is a mechanism of exclusion, and a gendered examination of women’s business practices unveils the diverse ways of engaging with entrepreneurialism. Therefore, we examine the complexity of the individual entrepreneurial experience, thereby challenging normative perspectives of entrepreneurship. We understand migrants as individuals with often unrecognized skills, such as pre-

7 migration entrepreneurial experience, and therefore possessing under-utilized skills and resources.

4. Methods

This paper is based on a project where a mixed methods strategy was adopted to study migrant women who have migrated to and opened businesses in Swe- den. In this study, migrant women are defined as foreign-born women. It is an embedded mixed methods design, where methods complement each other through a common gender analysis, in order to enhance our understanding of migrant women entrepreneurship. Qualitative methods are used in order to provide a sense of processes, for example by examining structures or work- life practices that affect migrant women’s experiences, while quantitative methods provide an analysis of which migrant women are self-employed. To- gether, these methods highlight important patterns of migrant women entrepreneurship while also presenting individual experiences. Register data was used to analyse the prevalence of entrepreneurship among both migrants and Swedish-born women. We compare migrant women to Swedish-born women in order to not only understand the gender perspective, but also the part of becoming and being self-employed when you are not a native. Data on self-employment comes from the Tax Agency’s definition of being self-employed, meaning that a person’s largest source of labour income comes from self-employment. We used a collection of register datasets compiled by Statistics Sweden, including all individuals registered in Sweden with a wide range of demographic, socioeconomic, residential and migration- related characteristics. This study includes all women aged 25-65 in the year 2012, both women born in Sweden and women born abroad. 36 economic life histories were conducted with foreign-born women from 26 different countries (see map in Figure 1) in the period 2017 - 2019. Eco- nomic life histories are longer in-depth interviews where an individual tells her life story, focusing on work and education. Women were found through online and network meetings for (migrant) entrepreneurs where all participants are self-defined as women, foreign born and entrepreneurs/self-employed. Women were interviewed in Stockholm and Västmanland where they resided and conducted their businesses. The length of interviews ranged from one to three hours with the majority being two hours long.

Figure 1. Map of the 26 countries of origin of the women interviewed in the study

Interviews took place in workplaces, homes or in cafes near businesses. Respondents could choose to speak in Swedish, English or Dutch. Business tended to be rather small with one to three permanent employees. Businesses were in different stages of development, with the major sectors being health and food services, creative industries, import-export, food production, health care and personal training and coaching. Interviews were transcribed in the language they were conducted and anonymized. They were analysed themat- ically using line-by-line open coding processes. To further support and form the basis for our policy recommendations, we engaged with policy makers and practitioners working to support migrant women entrepreneurs. Interviews with key decisions makers were conducted in the counties of Stockholm and Västmanland. Workshops were organized, first, with the women interviewed, to present our results and discuss findings and possible policy recommendations. Second, two workshops with policy makers and other audiences in both regions were organized to further discuss possible improvements in policies to improve migrant women entrepreneurship.

5. Results

5.1 Results from register data: Who gets to be self- employed?

These results are based on analyses of register data on the full population of Sweden in 2012. We start with examining differences between migrant women and women born in Sweden. Figure 2 summarizes self-employment rates3 for native women as well as migrants and second generation women. The figure shows that Swedish born women, with Swedish-born parents, have a self-employment rate of 5.5 %. The share of self-employment for migrant women is 6.4 %, and for women born in Sweden with foreign-born parents, it is 6.3 %.

Figure 2. Self-employment rates for women, 2012 Source: SCB, authors’ calculations

3 The self-employment rate is calculated as self-employed women divided by women who are active in the labour market, as is commonplace in the entrepreneurship literature. 11

The remainder of this analysis focuses on migrant women. Studies in Swe- den and elsewhere have shown that self-employment rates tend to vary by migrants’ country of origin. In particular Asian migrants are often self-employed (Andersson and Wadensjö 2004; Andersson et al. 2013). In contrast to most other studies, that only had access to crude data on region of birth, such as continents, the data used in this study includes country of birth grouped into 42 categories. For migrant groups that are significant in size in Sweden, the individual country of birth is provided, but for countries from which there are fewer migrants in Sweden, countries are grouped together. Figure 3 shows self-employment rates by country of origin.

Figure 3. Self-employment rates for women migrants by country of origin, 2012 Source: SCB, authors’ calculations

We see that Dutch migrant women are standing out with 18 % of all women aged 25-65 being self-employed. Many of these women own restaurants, campsites or Bed and Breakfasts in the Swedish countryside, and have moved to Sweden with their families (see for instance the study by Eimermann 2015). Self-employment rates are also high for Chinese, Polish, British, North Amer- ican, and Swiss women. Women from the horn of Africa and the former Yu- goslavia have the lowest self-employment rates. These results show that it is important to examine gender and ethnicity when examining self-employment.

Self-employment rates by crude regions of origin are interesting but may hide a lot of dynamics. The figure shows that Asian women have quite different rates of self-employment, with very high rates for women from some of the smaller countries in the Middle East, such as Lebanon, Israel and Jordan; as well as for women from Syria and Thailand, but much lower rates for women from south Asia, Afghanistan and Iraq. The migrant entrepreneurship literature has identified that self-employment rates tend to be higher for migrants coming from countries with high self- employment, though the evidence is not straightforward (Clark and Drinkwa- ter 2000; Light 1984). There are indications that level of development of the origin country plays a role, in creating possibilities or hindrances to migrants building networks and finding supports for their businesses (Kloosterman 2010; Maniyalath and Narendran 2016; Oyelere and Belton 2012; Webster and Haandrikman 2020). Similarly, the reason for moving to Sweden may play a role in labour market integration, with refugees starting at an obvious disadvantage compared to for instance labour migrants. Those not moving for economic reasons may not have the skills required in the Swedish labour market. We continue our analysis with descriptive statistics on all migrant and Swe- dish-born women, with a further distinction between those that are self-employed and wage-employed (Full table in Appendix Table 1). All women were registered in Sweden in the year 20124. Self-employed migrant women are slightly older than wage-employed migrant women, and this is even more so for native women. Self-employed women are more often lower educated than wage-employed women, and this is particularly so for migrant women. Among higher educated migrant women, self-employment is more common (6 %) than among higher educated Swedish-born women (4.5%). It is some- what more common for self-employed migrant women to have a Swedish partner than it is for wage-employed migrant women. The self-employed live most often in metropolitan areas, and this is especially the case for migrants. Mi- grant women, even more so than Swedish-born women, live most often in metropolitan areas. Swedish-born women, compared to foreign-born women, relatively more often live in rural areas. Most migrant women are from Asia and Europe; when comparing the self-employed with the wage-employed, Asian women are slightly overrepresented among the self-employed, while African women are underrepresented. Refugees, labour migrants and students are not very likely to be self-employed, while notably EU migrants are more often self-employed than wage-employed. A majority of migrant women has been in Sweden for a substantial period of time, and many are Swedish citizens. However, among self-employed migrant women, the share of Swedish citizens is lower compared to wage-employed women. We conducted a logistic regression analysis modelling which migrant women are self-employed versus migrant women who are wage-employed.

4 Those not employed are left outside the analysis. 13

With this analysis, we are able to identify which characteristics are most strongly associated with self-employment, controlling for all other variables. One can for instance examine whether region of origin is important after controlling for grounds for settlement and time since arrival in Sweden. Table 2 in the Appendix presents all of the results, while figures 4 and 5 present some of the most important findings in graphs. Statistically significant odds ratios that are higher than 1 – with 1 referring to the reference category (‘ref’ in Figures 4 and 5) - indicate a greater likelihood of being self-employed, while statistically significant odds ratios lower than 1 represent lower likelihoods of being self-employed versus being wage-employed.

Figure 4. Regression results for age, educational level and household position5 Source: SCB, authors’ calculations

The results show that several factors are important in describing which migrant women end up self-employed. First, human capital is important, with

5 The odds ratios are the result of a logistic regression analysis on the likelihood of being self- employed for migrant women, including the following variables: age, educational level, having children in the household, household position, citizenship, place of residence, time since arrival in Sweden, grounds for settlement, capital income and region of origin. Dark bars show significant odds ratios. Statistically significant results implies that we can reject the null hypothesis that there is no association with 95% certainty. “Ref” indicates the reference category for each variable. The full data is available in Table 2 in the Appendix. 14 older migrant women being more likely to be self-employed than the youngest women, when taking into account all the other variables. Having positive capital income, an indication for being able to get a mortgage and other loans, is also associated with a higher likelihood of self-employment. The multivariate analysis confirms that it is more likely that lower educated migrant women become self-employed compared to tertiary educated women (Figure 4). Non- Swedish citizens are more likely to be self-employed than Swedish citizens, which may be related to the generous rights registered residents enjoy in the Swedish universal welfare regime (Sainsbury 2006).

Figure 5. Regression results for grounds for settlement and region of origin Source: SCB, authors’ calculations6

Second, migrant women’s household composition also matters for self-employment. Having a partner, either a foreign born or a Swedish husband, and

6 The odds ratios are the result of a logistic regression analysis on the likelihood of being self- employed for migrant women, including the following variables: age, educational level, having children in the household, household position, citizenship, place of residence, duration in Sweden, grounds for settlement, capital income and region of origin. Dark bars show significant odds ratios. Statistically significant results implies that we can reject the null hypothesis that there is no association with 95% certainty. “Ref” indicates the reference category for each variable. The full data is available in Table 2 in the Appendix. 15 having children is associated with a higher likelihood for self-employment. Having a partner, especially a Swedish partner, may be seen as a resource, providing help in building networks and practical support in registering and managing a business, but also as a safety net (Webster and Haandrikman 2017). The importance of such local social capital is also reflected in the importance of duration of stay in Sweden. Recent migrants are much less likely to be self-employed than those who have come earlier. Third, the reason for coming to Sweden and the region of origin also play a role in the likelihood to become self-employed (Figure 5). Women migrants from the EU but also labour migrants, family migrants and other migrants7 are much more likely to be self-employed compared to refugees and students. Asian women migrants are twice as likely, and North American women 2.8 times as likely compared to Nordic women to be self-employed. In compari- son, African women are much less likely to have their own companies. Finally, place of residence explains part of the variation in self-employment rates among migrant women. Migrant women living in either metropolitan or rural areas are most likely to be self-employed. In rural areas, this might be of necessity, as finding wage-employment might be more scarce. In metropolitan areas, there may be a larger market for certain migrant businesses (Andersson et al. 2013). Figure 6 shows the sectors in which self-employed women in Sweden have their businesses. The figure shows the main sectors, for both migrant women and for Swedish born-women with Swedish-born parents. Compared to Swe- dish-born women, migrant women much more often have their businesses in accommodation and food services (almost solely restaurants), in administrative and support services (mostly in cleaning), and more often in other service activities (of which almost half in hairdressing). On the other hand, Swedish- born women are more often self-employed within agriculture, forestry and fishing (mostly in forest management), and in professional, scientific and technical activities. One reason for these differences may be that not all migrant women will be fluent in Swedish, which may be required for administrative, scientific, professional and technical businesses. In addition, from our interviews with policy makers we have learnt that support services tend to stimu- late migrant women to open businesses in specific sectors, most specifically health care, childcare and food. Finally, from the interviews with migrant women we know that women from specific countries are trained in certain sectors, and sometimes have had business in their home countries in these sectors. Examples are that Bosnian women are over represented in hairdressing, Polish women in cleaning, and Thai women in the restaurant sector.

7 This includes women migrants not needing a residence permit, from different origins. 16

Figure 6. Main employment sectors of self-employed women, 2012

5.2 Results from interviews: Processes shaping self- employment

The following section provides a description of our key findings using quotes from interviews with migrant women entrepreneurs participating in this study. Results fall under four broad themes and show the ways in which migrant entrepreneurship is a complicated process tied to women’s positions as new- comers to Sweden and as women in the entrepreneurship field.

Starting a new life and a job: Migration and entrepreneurship as a turning point

For the women in our study, migration offered an opportunity for reflection and consideration of their careers. Many women needed to consider what their new life in Sweden could and should look like and entrepreneurship served as a turning point where they could start new careers.

I thought I want to be my own boss; I want to do something creative. (United Kingdom, P5)

While migration can be disruptive to one’s life, it also serves as a chance for women to use the disruption in a new and creative way. Yet for some women, entrepreneurship was not their first choice or first idea; a significant portion of women had entered into the labour market before self-employment. One woman from Slovenia described applying for more than 1000 jobs before starting her first business. Nevertheless, entrepreneurship was described by many women as a turning point and a choice they enjoy and derive pride from in sense of self-worth. The way in which these turning points materialized are broad in scope. The women in our study entered in entrepreneurship from multiple pathways. It is clear from our interviews that the range of entries to entrepreneurship needs to be considered especially for migrant women. For many women, starting a business began informally based on immediate opportunities which garnered instant financial rewards. This was most acute for women finding themselves locked out of the labour market. A woman from Poland started picking mushrooms after not finding a job but found the job physically challenging and provided little income; this prompted her to start a firm after a few months:

We don’t have money now; it is a very hard live. I picked mushrooms in the forest...[so] then I opened my company. I did not have any clients, no contracts, it was just me opening the firm. (Poland, P17)

Examples like this do show migrant women are entering entrepreneurship for necessity. For others, entrepreneurship followed after a period of working and then changing career directions. For many this coincided with parental leave or dissatisfaction with their jobs caused from deskilling post-migration. One woman from the United Kingdom did not want to continue in her field:

I started to think … I need to make [my interest] into a business, if I don't want to go back to [my old field]. (United Kingdom, P7)

There was broad consensus that labour market work helped many women pre- pare for starting their businesses in Sweden including learning key skills such as language, government rules and regulations, and softer skills like working cultures and gaining networks. Other self-employed women entered entrepreneurship through new emerging pathways such as the growing digital or platform opportunities. Platforms and other digital resources served as a way for women to test their business ideas:

I continued cooking and gained confidence at the same time, [it] coincided with me finding [the platform service8] so that I is how I started. (India, P32)

Most migrant women found building business infrastructure, for example to sell products or to reach the market, to be a challenge, especially in a new setting. Using an economic or social digital platform created a structure and framework for designing a business. This was especially key for migrant women who may not have many local connections.

I got the feeling like this is really good [opportunity]. I mean, [I] should try [the platform]9 and it was really cool, because this is the best platform for somebody like me, who doesn’t have many friends and wants to cook but I have no contacts. (Peru, P1)

The range of entries, and newly emerging ones like platforms, to entrepreneurship necessitates a greater understanding of the social processes and contexts surrounding migrant women entrepreneurs. The relationship between life experience and becoming an entrepreneur is a complicated one, and a decision that is driven by many forces, like family, migration, and access to resources. For the women in our study, becoming an entrepreneur was naturally a way to earn income, however it was also very much tied to their positions in society

8 The platform name cannot be revealed for ethical reasons. This platform is a transactional digital platform which links sellers and consumers locally for peer-to-peer exchange. 9 As footnote 8. 19 and their migrant experiences. The diversity in pathways in coming to entrepreneurship is perhaps not surprising given the range of experiences migrant women entrepreneurs bring with them.

Meeting walls and doorways: The playing field is uneven

While entrepreneurship represented new ideas and opportunities for most migrant women, becoming and being an entrepreneur was not a straightforward process. Migrant women did not arrive in Sweden without resources or skills, however many did arrive without the cultural and linguistic knowledge necessary to secure a place in Swedish networks and working culture. Their positions represented new opportunities in the form of identifying gaps in the market and bringing forward new ideas. Migrant women need to navigate the Swedish system as migrants and as women. Women in the study routinely described systematic exclusion and described experiencing implicit and explicit forms of discrimination. One form of discrimination that emerged in many interviews was doubt both socially, such as friends and acquaintances but also by institutional actors in their abilities to run, manage and sustain a business in the Swedish context. One woman from Hungary described that many people, including her neighbour, ques- tioned her ability by asking her:

There were lots of people near me, who know me, who ask, “How can you open a business when you are coming from another country?”. And my neighbour asked “What do your customers say when your Swedish is not good?” (Hungary, P15)

These kinds of questions highlight the ways in which migrant women’s skills are perceived as less capable and competent and also the extent of the obstacles facing them. The study shows that discrimination occurred in social spheres as well as economic with these forms of discrimination shaping women’s experiences. Most migrant women entrepreneurs experienced systematic discrimination throughout their entrepreneurial journey, often presenting in the form of double discrimination. As women and entrepreneurs they experienced operating in a male dominated field. One woman from Norway struggled with the masculine culture found in the entrepreneurial networks and business services:

You are met with scepticism, that you’re the wrong gender, you hear … you are not enough, we won’t put our money into you. (Norway, P11)

These multiple layers of discrimination shape the processes of migrant women experiences in becoming self-employed. Structural challenges like this are

20 prevalent and represent a significant challenge to supporting migrant women entrepreneurs.

Uneven and biased experiences in access to networks and services

Having networks was key for getting clients and contracts to ensure longevity of businesses. When women did have networks, these proved to be fruitful pathways for the women, but as an entrepreneur from Mexico points out, her network was too small to support her business long-term:

It’s hard. You need to know someone that’s already inside that says this person [is good] … I got one job, actually it was a video I did for [a mag- azine]. That wasn’t paid or anything. It was just something I wanted to do. And when I did that, [a potential client said we] like what you did for this video, can you do it for us? Like for us? And I was like yeah. So, I think that was, yeah, [but that was] my only contact though! (Mexico, P10)

Networks need to be both deep, with key relationships, but also broad in scope. Having connections locally to the Swedish community through personal connections was vital for many migrant women entrepreneurs. One woman entrepreneur from Vietnam explained how a retired member of her community, who was a regular customer, became essential to her ongoing success. He helped her navigate paper work and helped her communicate with the authorities.

One person was with us the whole time, I am so thankful. I am thankful to him helping us all the time. He said, ‘I will have a look, I will check if everything works as it should in the shop’. And he said it was good. He was so good. He was a counsellor before. (Vietnam, P29)

This relationship not only helped in the day-to-day management of her business but also rooted and connected this migrant entrepreneur to her local community in Sweden. Networks are important to build both social and economic integration. The migrant women entrepreneurs were aware that they were at a disadvantage compared to their native counterparts as they lacked access to local and wide networks. One woman explained that she lacked local knowledge that could smooth processes as she built her business and perhaps prevent some mistakes:

If I had grown up here, probably my friend from school could tell me, ‘I know this space you can hire for a very low price’ or ‘Oh I know the owner of the store you can come and show your jewellery’, I don´t have that… so

it takes a lot of courage and thick skin as they say here [“skinn på näsan”] to go knocking on those doors. (Venezuela, P6)

Turning to another form of network, women identified the need to have role models and mentors to illuminate processes and pathways in business growth and development. Many of these figures were other successful entrepreneurs or industry leaders:

I think about why I relate to him [role model] so much. [It’s] because he was a poor, poor kid, came from a poor family and like me, [he] did a decision and became intrigued by other people's life, like how do they do [their businesses]. (Eritrea, P30)

However, many of the role models were found closer to home. Several women pointed to their parents, who often also were entrepreneurs, as important role models even if they were not in Sweden. The importance of friends, networks and partners also emerged as one of the key support system for migrant women entrepreneurs. These networks could be found in many ways through education and programs.

You start, like, building your social network through SFI. (Venezuela, P13)

Common to these role models was the important role of care and support - emotional support is key for many migrant women as they pursued the difficult route to entrepreneurship. Emotional support came from various places including from friends and families to practitioners in services and programs.

My biggest supporters and guides have been my friends. (The Gambia, P26)

Women often found themselves alone in their entrepreneurial journey with friends and family far away. In some cases, these supports kept women going during times of hardship.

After I divorced … I started again because my friend and everybody call me, they call me to come to the shop. (Ivory Coast, P31)

Self-employed women are navigating an economic process that is difficult in a field that unequally distributes power and resources. The role of professional networks and emotional supports are essential to the longevity of businesses in this kind of environment. Moreover, access to resources that are embedded to local belonging represents a significant challenge for migrant women entrepreneurs.

No quick fixes: Entrepreneurship takes time

Generally speaking, most women found the process of formally starting a business to be fairly straightforward. However, this was not the case for all women:

I don’t know about how to register the company. (India, P14)

Study participants reported different stages presenting different challenges and requiring different kinds of supports throughout their entrepreneurial journey. A migrant woman in care services says it never feels safe despite having successfully grown her business for over three years:

It never feels safe! Never, because you never know what is going to happen. I don’t know, it depends how things will develop within social services in Sweden – if they get organized then perhaps they won’t need us... There is so much competition out there. Imagine if they succeed better and take our opportunities. (Russia, P16)

The need for supports beyond the start-up phase was common for many migrant women entrepreneurs. For several established entrepreneurs the decision to grow was a challenge to ascertain the benefits and draw backs of changing business form or taking on new employees. For example, one women from Poland started her cleaning business which grew rapidly. Her growing business meant she needed to transfer from one-person business [enskild firma] to a stock company [Aktiebolag], however this process was a challenge for her. Unable to find good information on how to transfer firm types, she experienced financial difficulties during the transition and impacted her ability to do business:

It’s a problem going from a one-person business to register as an AB [stock] company. It is a super weird situation. I checked the tax agency, aha! On the old firm, there is this much money left, but nothing on the AB. Why do you I pay [taxes] every month, why don’t I have any money? (Po- land, P17)

Women in these stages of business development struggled to find resources that would help them transition firm types, scale up or expand. Many women, especially those in the earlier stages, cited wanting time to learn about the market, to do research, develop products or proof of concept. Additionally, women reported finding it difficult to understand and access softer knowledge and resources such as networks or market research. Lan- guage and cultural learning takes time and building networks; social and human capital is a process that is built through interactions. Almost all of the women expressed interest in learning Swedish both for business and social 23 lives. However, many reported finding it difficult to balance family and work life. It was often difficult to find a form of finding a Swedish course that suited their needs in terms of work-life balance.

I’m not going to reschedule SFI [Swedish for Immigrants] to the night because that’s family time … but I would really like to go there during the days …I’m booking two days per week that I want to work. (Peru, P1)

Work-life balance was a challenge for most women in the study who were most often in the family formation stage of life with young children, as also confirmed in the quantitative part of the study. In this busy stage of life, language was often not the highest priority. Furthermore, integration processes include more than language but also knowing the cultural context of working and living in a place. These dual responsibilities take time and shape the processes as women launch their business. One Syrian refugee arriving in 2015 felt she could not start a business too quickly, as she and her family needed time to recover and she needed to learn about Sweden. With 16 years of self-employment experience prior to moving to Sweden, she saw learning and planning as good business practice:

It was difficult [at first] because you move, and you want to make relations with the people and you go here and there and buy and sell the thing! …I worked [as an entrepreneur] for almost 16 years! I want to also study the market [here] and to check what certificate or something I think is needed from here. I need some time also! (Syria, P27)

Furthermore, if their business is largely international, learning Swedish may not be a top priority for all self-employed migrant women especially if most of their sales are conducted globally. One woman interviewed explained that her business was shaped by international considerations:

You don’t need to fit in the Swedish system. Sorry! (laughs) You have the whole world! Really! You don’t need to fit in! (Slovenia, P19)

Learning Swedish was vital to women with locally based businesses but for most it was not the first type of support they needed. Swedish became necessary over time and especially as their businesses expanded locally.

If [clients] ask me in Swedish and they write to me in Swedish. [I can now] so I think that helped open up [my business] as well. (USA, P9)

It is important to acknowledge that for many migrant women entrepreneurs starting a business also runs parallel to their integration process – for example learning Swedish, settling children into a new country – which is being done while undertaking the significant task of starting a business. Migrant women 24 are setting up businesses while balancing multiple roles and bearing heavy family responsibilities in a new context demonstrating high-level capabilities and competencies.

6. Conclusions

This paper has shown migrant women entrepreneurs are a diverse and complex group. Migrant women entrepreneurs tend to have some human and local social capital before they start their businesses. Specifically women from Asia and North America are more often self-employed. Women have come to Swe- den because of different reasons, most often as family or EU migrants. They are innovative both in their businesses but also through the ways in which they navigate their own social integration. Migrant women entrepreneurs regularly are adapting their skills and talents in the new economic context. Given the complexity of this group, it is necessary to consider the multiple roles they engage with regularly: woman, migrant, business owner. Entrepreneurship holds opportunities for migrant women in Sweden, and policy supports must recognize that self-employment is a process, not a one-off solution. Migrant women entrepreneurs require time and supports throughout their business development and their own integration in Sweden.

7. Policy recommendations

Migrant women entrepreneurs require targeted supports which recognizes the heterogeneous character of this demographic and the complex social structures shaping individual experiences of self-employment. Our recommendations are as follows:

1. There is a need better for deeper understanding of the complexity of migrant entrepreneurship.

Migrant women entrepreneurs are a diverse group with various needs. Policy makers need to target migrant entrepreneurs throughout all stages of business development and growth. Support needs to be designed to acknowledge the multiple needs this group faces. This includes recognizing that discrimination based on gender, migrant status, race, class and class background plays a role in migrant women entrepreneurship, and that vulnerability comes in many forms. Supports for women entrepreneurs should continue to be a top priority as migrant women continue to experience double discrimination as both women and as entrepreneurs.

2. A stronger understanding of the diversity of entry pathways to businesses is essential and all business types must be given full consideration.

Migrant women engage in a wide range of businesses across multiple sectors. Businesses that are non-tech, smaller and at-home businesses must be recognized as important and receive targeted support if programs and supports want to specifically promote migrant women entrepreneurs. Widening access to financing for all stages of business development is needed for women entering self-employment. This could include stipends or follow models similar to those received by students to ensure consistency in income levels during early stages. Migrant women are using more diverse and non-traditional pathways, for example in digital labour platforms, to test and start businesses. Migrant women entrepreneurs require good up-to-date information on the latest formal requirements and business development services should increase their aware- ness of these processes. Swedish authorities should more thoroughly identify

29 the gendered divisions of labour within platform usage and develop supports for women entering into entrepreneurship under these new modes of businesses development. Platform companies, both large and small firms from various sectors but especially those specializing in transactions, services and deliveries, should be participants in developing supports to encourage and sustain migrant women entrepreneurs. Given the many experiences of discrimination experienced by women, programs and supports need to create environments that recognize and amplify the capabilities and competencies of migrant women. This can be done through investing and validating peer-to-peer network, training and cross- partnership between migrant women businesses.

3. A sustainable support system must take a long-view perspective.

Starting a company can be long-term process for migrant women. Therefore, multi-year policy supports and programs are needed. Women need time to both integrate in society and to establish appropriate local knowledge, such as language, to sustainably maintain their businesses. It is import to create, support and sustain programmes that recognizes entrepreneurship is a process. This includes financing programs for multi-year projects and protecting institutional knowledge garnered by practitioners. Ex- amples of programs could include supports for creating time for product design, proof of concept, market research and network development. There are many resources available to prospective migrant entrepreneurs, however information is scattered and unclear. Prospective and growing migrant women businesses need clearer information for all stages of growth to establish their businesses and to continue sustain their growing businesses.

4. Supports are needed for networking and mentoring based on connections – both based on sector and location.

Migrant women need good, well-informed, and knowledgeable mentors with established local networks. Mentors should be from similar businesses, sectors or industries and they should be able to provide and widen local networks. Established migrant women entrepreneurs can and should play an important role in coaching new generations of self-employed women entrepreneurs. The value of mentors needs to be more strongly recognized and programs should support mentors with training, networks and, if possible, financial supports. In particular, mentoring is needed at all stages of business development. One particular area of vulnerability, is when small businesses are poised to grow. Established small businesses need help during this transition.

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Appendix Table 1. Descriptive statistics of self- employed and wage-employed migrant and native women, 2012 (%) Variable Category Migrant women Swedish-born women2 Self- Wage- Self- Wage- employed employed employed employed Age 25-34 18.9 26.9 13.5 25.3 35-44 29.6 29.4 25.5 27.8 45-54 28.6 25.8 30.9 26.2 55-65 22.9 17.9 30.1 20.7 100 100 100 100 Educational Primary 17.0 15.1 9.8 6.2 level Secondary 38.8 38.0 49.7 43.6 Tertiary 44.2 47.0 40.5 50.2 100 100 100 100 Children in yes 61.5 60.1 56.6 58.5 household no 38.5 39.9 43.4 41.5 100 100 100 100 Household Swedish partner 26.8 23.1 63.9 58.4 position Foreign born 38.4 35.0 3.9 3.2 partner Single parent 12.8 14.9 9.7 10.8 Single 21.9 27.0 22.5 27.6 100 100 100 100 Place of Metropolitan ar- 52.2 50.2 35.9 32.0 residence eas Bigger cities 24.3 29.2 27.8 34.7 Smaller towns 15.3 13.4 23.1 20.6 Countryside 8.2 7.3 13.2 12.8 100 100 100 100 Region of Scandinavia 17.2 18.0 origin Europe 34.1 31.2 Africa 2.6 6.9 Asia 39.2 35.2 South America 4.5 7.2 North America/ 2.4 1.4 Oceania Other 0.0 0.0 100 100 Time of <1990 40.4 38.4 arrival 1990s 21.9 26.9 2000s 32.0 27.3 2010s 5.1 6.9 Missing 0.6 0.5 100 100 Grounds for Asylum 11.7 19.0 settlement Labour 5.6 4.6 Study 0.3 0.9 Family reunion 25.9 24.1 EU/EES 28.5 26.3 Other 27.9 25.0 100 100

Country of Swedish 65.4 70.2 citizenship Non-Swedish 34.6 29.8 100 100 Capital in- Zero 17.3 18.2 come Negative 54.3 62.5 Positive 28.4 19.3 100 100 N 21.498 312.606 73.964 1.273.517 1 Only women aged 25-65 are included who are either self-employed or wage-employed. 2 Swedish-born women with Swedish-born parents. Source: SCB, authors’ calculations.

Appendix Table 2. Logistic regression of self- employment versus wage-employment, migrant women, 2012 (%)

Variable Category Odds ratio p-value1

Age 25-34 (ref.) 1 35-44 1.39 *** 45-54 1.69 *** 55-65 1.93 *** Educational level Primary (ref.) 1 Secondary 0.96 Tertiary 0.82 *** Missing 1.33 *** Children in household Yes vs. no 1.12 ***

Household composi- Single (ref.) 1 tion Swedish partner 1.27 *** Foreign born partner 1.32 *** Single parent 1.02 Place of residence Bigger cities (ref.) 1 Metropolitan areas 1.28 *** Smaller towns 1.29 *** Countryside 1.30 ***

Region of origin Scandinavia (ref.) 1 Europe 1.76 *** Africa 0.74 *** Asia 2.07 *** South America 1.20 *** North America/ Oceania 2.79 ***

Other 1.15 Time of arrival 2010s (ref.) 1 <1990 1.45 *** 1990s 1.40 *** 2000s 1.82 *** Missing 1.56 *** Grounds for settlement Asylum (ref.) 1 Labour 1.74 *** Study 0.74 * Family reunion 1.52 ***

EU/EES 2.09 *** Other 1.56 *** Country of citizenship Non-Swedish vs. Swedish 1.30 ***

Capital income Zero (ref.) 1 Negative 0.91 *** Positive 1.50 *** N 334,104 Nagelkerke R2 0.041 *** 1 Levels of significance are indicated using * p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001. Source: SCB, authors’ calculations.