Women's journey through entrepreneurship in the tourism industry

Project Information

WomENt

Grant agreement ID: 792738

DOI

10.3030/792738

Project closed

EC signature date 19 March 2018

Start date 1 September 2018

End date 31 December 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 195 454,80

EU contribution

€ 195 454,80

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WomENt (Women's journey through entrepreneurship in the tourism industry)

Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

WomENt [Women’s journeys through entrepreneurship in the tourism industry] advances the understanding of women’s experiences of tourism entrepreneurship. Tourism is advocated as an accessible entrepreneurship gateway for women because of the predominance of small firms and relatively low entry barriers; but, even so, the proportion of women entrepreneurs remains well below equality and their participation tend to be associated to stereotypical positions in handcrafts, collaborative economy, or positions that replicate family care. This represents a significant lost opportunity for individuals, communities and economies.
WomENt draws on the fresh perspectives provided by a post-structuralist feminist approach, reinforced by mixed methods analyses, to identify key contingent factors that determine effective tourism entrepreneurship actions, practices and performances. The pathways will be analysed in the United Kingdom and Spain, with contrasting tourism industries, and entrepreneurial environments.
Consequently, the overall research aim of WomENt is to apply a post-structuralist approach to two national case studies: “To understand the different pathways of women’s entrepreneurship journey in a changing tourism industry, and how different environments, agents, policies and actions across different scales (macro, meso and micro) influence their opportunities, motivations and challenges”.
The more specific research Objectives (O) are:
O1. To analyse women’s pathways in tourism entrepreneurship.
O2. To develop evidence-based policy and practice recommendations to foster women’s entrepreneurship in tourism.
O3. To promote the culture of entrepreneurship among women in the tourism industry, through effective research-based dissemination.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

This project aimed to understand women’s journey through entrepreneurship in the tourism industry, in order to promote and support it. With a holistic perspective the project has tried to involve all actors in the complex process of entrepreneurship: academics, students, policy makers and entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, the poststructuralist perspective has provided an open definition on the concept of entrepreneurship, growth and success, at the same time it has supported the process of giving voice to women and their experiences in this sector. From a methodological perspective a mix method approach has combined a systematic review, surveys and interviews, as well as policy evaluation. This has meant the participation in Spain and UK, of more that 1000 university students in tourism and hospitality graduate and postgraduate degrees, 37 entrepreneurs, policy makers, specifically SEGITUR, and the collaboration with other academics in tourism and gender studies in Europe and Africa.
The performed systematic review is based on 127 research documents about women, entrepreneurship and tourism, and its results were published in a top research journal (Annals of Tourism Research). The survey among university students in hospitality and tourism (H&T) (1012 participants and 660 after revision) were published partially in a top journal (Journal of Sustainable Tourism). Also, 37 established entrepreneurs were interviewd in UK and Spain (20 women and 17 men). Results published in a top journal (Journal of Sustainable Tourism). Finally, policy making analysis show that existing tourism policies are gender neutral and primarily focused on economic sustainability. A content analysis was performed over the funding scheme for H&T entrepreneurs in Spain (EMPRENDETUR). Almost one thousand applications were analysed.
All results (systematic review, surveys, interviews and policy making analysis) were incorporated in a Policy Report, that was distributed through Social Media an among researchers and practitioner.
At a dissemination level the project has covered the online and offline media and has exceeded its initial goals. At an online level, the website and social media has covered the starting process and the evolution of the project. More than 75 publications in each Social Media platform (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin). The researcher has published 4 articles in top research journals, related to the topic, and is working on three more. She has participated in 7 international conferences. Finally, two webinars around entrepreneurship, women and tourism have been organised to present results from WomENt in the UK and Spain, in Spanish and English, with the attendance of approximately 250 people and the participation of 14 speakers.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The performed systematic review is based on 127 research documents and results show that the dominant definitions and evaluations of entrepreneurship need to be questioned, so as to challenge Global North conceptualizations of empowerment and success. Scholars ought to diversify the locations of research on entrepreneurship and gender and engage more with policy critiques.
The survey among university students in H&T confirms that most women and men are latent entrepreneurs, and only 5.4% of women versus 3.3% of men never want to become entrepreneurs. But the gap widens among nascent entrepreneurs, those already taking steps towards entrepreneurship: 15.7% men versus 5.6% women. Also, though the relevance of networking is confirmed, 70% of men but only 57% of women personally know an entrepreneur. The study has found out, in accordance with previous literature review, that men tend to be more open to identifying business opportunities and women are far less confident about their entrepreneurial competence and business knowledge. Finally, Social Media is an important source of information for students in developing their careers: 67.1% use social media to obtain work-related information.
The content analysis performed over 37 interviews among established entrepreneurs in the UK and Spain show that the starting point and motivations are very diverse among entrepreneurs, ranging from greater fulfilment to identifying market opportunities; these motivations are not clearly gendered. From a gender perspective, women strongly emphasise the importance of formal training, and men tend to have more confidence in their competence as entrepreneurs. The majority of women have experienced gender discrimination as entrepreneurs: requesting funding, professional relations, stereotyping in their roles as founders. Also, almost all entrepreneurs acknowledge the existence of a gender gap in entrepreneurship. A UK-Spain comparison shows that networking is far more active in the UK than in Spain.
Finally, policy making analysis show that existing tourism policies are gender neutral and primarily focused on economic sustainability. A study of a Spanish funding scheme for entrepreneurs in H&T, EMPRENDETUR, found that less women participate in the scheme (only 16% of the applications are made by women). Furthermore, their project´s show a lower probability of being funded. From a project design perspective, women`s projects tend to have less shareholders and employees, require less money and concentrate on hospitality, while men focus more on ICTs.

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