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Women and Self Employment
Enterprising Solutions
Faced with the interconnected barriers of gender, race, class, language and ineffective accreditation systems, many immigrant and refugee women are confined to a life of poverty and powerlessness. For many, employment opportunities are limited to low-wage sectors including factory, domestic and clerical work. Entrepreneurship can be a viable alternative to wage employment for many immigrant women and can provide a path to economic independence.
Did You Know?
- In the last 25 years, self-employment has grown
faster than paid employment.
- 34% of women
in Ontario
are self-employed.
- Immigrant women are more likely to be self-employed
than Canadian-born women.
Women are refused financing for enterprise
development 20% more often than men
and are regularly charged a higher interest rate for business loans.
- There
are more than 821,000 women entrepreneurs in Canada contributing in excess of $18
billion to the economy
every year.
- The number of women
entrepreneurs increased 208% between
1981 and 2001 compared with a 38%
for men.
What Is IWC Doing?
- IWC
creates opportunities for women to discover their entrepreneurship and generate
income through its annual International Marketplace. In 2008
the Marketplace hosted 26 immigrant women who explored their business talent
and supplemented their income by selling home-made crafts, clothing, beauty
products, and much more.
- IWC
is in the process of developing a Micro-Lending Initiative to create training and
opportunities for women in search of credit and loans for small businesses. The
project is a partnership with the Hamilton Social
Enterprise Network
Stay tuned for more information. IWC provides a multitude of other related services.
Please see our Programs and Services section for more details.
Further Reading:
The Canadian Women’s Community Economic Development Council: Women Entrepeneurs Fact Sheet
PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise
ACTEW - Self-Employed Women Fact-Sheet
Hamilton Training Advisory Board
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