期刊名称：International Journal of Business and Management Studies
电子版ISSN：1309-8047
出版年度：2017
卷号：9
期号：2
页码：35-51
出版社：Social Sciences Research Society
摘要：The potential of the South African economy to achieve desired growth is greatlyhampered by the systematic exclusion of women entrepreneurial activity in the keyindustries that drive the economy. One such industry is the construction industrythat contributes positively to the South African’s economy. Yet, this industry ishighly male-dominated. Despite seeming improvements in women’sentrepreneurial participation in different industries, there is still a huge gap betweenthe percentages of men and women participating in the construction industry,particularly from a small business perspective. The construction industry hasremained largely closed to women entrepreneurs and posing overwhelmingchallenges to the few women who have found their way into the industry. This studyexplores these challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the constructionindustry as well as the strategies adopted by these women to overcome some of theobstacles they encounter in the construction industry in Pietermaritzburg, SouthAfrica. Qualitative data was collected using in-depth interviews from a sample of16 women entrepreneurs. The snowball sampling technique was used to identifythe participants. Content analysis was used for data analysis. The results revealedthat women face deeply rooted socio-cultural challenges, particularly patriarchalattitudes in the construction industry. The strategies used by the women toovercome some of the challenges include partnering with male business owners when bidding for construction jobs and forming reliable business networks. It is, therefore, important for policy makers to engage more with women running small businesses in the construction industry in order to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of these challenges. Support should be tailor made to mitigate the specific challenges..
关键词：women entrepreneurship; small businesses; construction industry;challenges; South Africa
