The constraints of being a female entrepreneur in AKwa Ibom North East Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

A new global agenda pushes gender equality as an imperative in all aspects of human endeavour leading several international institutions and governments emphasizing a level playing field for both men and women irrespective of their profession and inclination. This emphasis is now realized through an almost equal representation in government, business, and academia. A common denominator of this agenda is viewed from the complimentary role that women play in society. Their multiple role as wives, mothers, care givers to the sick and elderly and support for extended family systems imply that they should be supported by way of incentives and policy for the enhancement of their socioeconomic status. However, what is evident is that women are continuously disadvantaged especially in enterprise formation and business venturing because men continue to dominate the formal economy. With the general consensus that women in a predominantly male society are inappropriately disadvantaged and their innovative and creative potentials misplaced in terms of owing and running enterprises, this paper tries to identify the pertinent constraints inhibiting women entrepreneurship and the possible adoptive measures which can remove some of these anomalies. A positivist philosophy and quantitative research design generated primary data from 210 respondents. This data was analysed using SPSS version 25. Broadly, we found that the constraints faced by female entrepreneurs in the area the study took place are not unique to them but a reflection of what has been reported by other authors leaving us to argue that the patriarchal nature of entrepreneurship needs to be continuously interrogated.