Intersections of Immigrant status and Gender in the Swedish Entrepreneurial Landscape

Labour markets in welfare states are structured along the lines of gender and immigrant & minority statuses. This paper brings novel insights into the issue of ethnic entrepreneurship as a means of sustainable inclusion of immigrants into the labour market by adding a gender dimension. Based on unique longitudinal data, the paper analyses the division of labour and the work incomes of female immigrant entrepreneurs in contrast with male immigrants and native-born Swedes. The results indicate that the division of labour is structured along the lines of both gender and immigrant status. At first glance, a gender perspective on ethnic entrepreneurship acknowledges persistent inequalities in the labour market. Analysis of entrepreneurship within niches such as the health care sector, however, indicates greater complexity in the entrepreneurial landscape. The paper identifies implications of a nuanced analysis of entrepreneurial research, which recognises diversity along the axes of both immigrant status and gender. Entrepreneurial processes can lead to both exclusion and inclusion of minority groups in the labour market, depending on the sector concerned.