Title: Entrepreneurial pursuits of women and men in the diaspora from MENA: dual embeddedness in home- and host-societies

Authors: Ye Liu; Zohreh Hassannezhad Chavoushi

Addresses: Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China ' Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: Migrants are embedded in traditions in their home-society and embedded in institutions in their host-society. This dual embeddedness raises issues for migrants from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) residing in Europe and North America. Embedded in a gender-inegalitarian home-society and in a more gender-egalitarian host-society, what are migrant women's occupational pursuits, especially to become entrepreneurs? The research design analyses women and men in the diaspora by comparing their home-society and their host-society. Analyses show that migrant men's roles are to be breadwinners in the diaspora in both home- and host-societies. Migrant women, however, switch extensively from being homemakers in home-society to becoming breadwinners in host-society. Migrant women frequently show entrepreneurial intention, but are filtered out more than men, and in the diaspora more than women in Europe and North America, but less than women in MENA. The findings contribute to understanding effects of dual embeddedness.

Keywords: migrants; home-society; host-society; traditional culture; secular-rational culture; gender; occupation; entrepreneur; MENA.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2023.133445

European Journal of International Management, 2023 Vol.21 No.2, pp.276 - 291

Received: 31 Jul 2020
Accepted: 06 Aug 2021
Published online: 15 Sep 2023 *

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