Bangladeshi Women and Self-Employment: Options, Barriers and Solutions

Lead Author(s) Isebail MacKinnon, Project Manager, Dinar Ali, Development Worker Organisation Street Cred, Quaker Social Action Full postal address 45-47 Blythe Street, London, E2 6LN Tel: 020 7729 9267 E-mail: isebailmackinnon@qsa.org.uk Website: www.quakersocialaction.com Type of Paper: Working Paper Purpose: this research explores the barriers facing Bangladeshi women entering into selfemployment and the possible solutions to such. The outcome is information on barriers faced and a bank of solutions which might be applied so that business support can be provided which is appropriate to the needs of Bangladeshi women. The paper will also look at the current solutions being used to overcome these barriers. Design/Methodology/Approach: existing research will be strengthened through the following methods: Focus groups with members of the Bangladeshi community; observation of Street Cred (SC) clients; surveys with SC clients; results from a conference on barriers and solutions and discussions with existing Bangladeshi businesswomen. Findings: this paper will show the interim findings, as the research will continue until April 2008. Implications: entrepreneurs business support is more accessible. Bangladeshi female entrepreneurs: understand barriers and how to overcome them. Mainstream business support agencies and practitioners: understanding how the Bangladeshi community operates as a whole and their perception of business and enterprise. Greater awareness of Bangladeshi women and their needs therefore, allowing for the creation of tailor made business support. Community researchers feed into existing research and provide a basis for further research. The implications being that research can enable a better understanding of the needs of a client groups and how that group can be better served by business support providers. Also, what steps the Bangladeshi community can take to better enable women to start businesses. Street Cred Plan to develop this piece of work as a resource for business support agencies, as well as educational piece for the Bangladeshi community. Originality/Value: This research is carried out with and by the Bangladeshi community and it enables them to play a key role in describing the barriers faced by their community and then developing possible solutions to those barriers. This research has been undertaken by working with the Bangladeshi community and their organisations to get valid and valuable qualitative research done within this community. Key Words: Bangladeshi Community. Women. Barriers. Self-employment. Business Support. Ethnic Minorities.

1. PURPOSE
Our research
Our research forms part of the Bangladeshi Women and Enterprise Project, a specific piece of work undertaken for the London Development Agency. This is a one year project with the following aims: to engage with women from the Bangladeshi community, make them aware of the option of self employment and what mainstream services are available to assist them; to develop a brochure of successful female Bangladeshi business owners who can be appropriate role models for emerging entrepreneurs; to carry out research into the barriers faced by Bangladeshi women who wish to enter into self employment and identify some of the solutions to those barriers; to develop a tool kit for business support providers which will be delivered to them via seminars so that they are more informed about the needs of this client group and able to shape their services in an appropriate manner.

From the statistics and research that exists, it can be seen that there is an untapped resource of Bangladeshi women who could be starting new businesses. With the funding by the LDA of the London Bangladeshi Business Network this shows that there is an effort being made to support this community to start, grow and develop businesses. This is part of the overall aim by the UK government to increase the number of ethnic minority and disadvantaged communities in selfemployment by 2008 (BERR, 2005). As women are the most under represented group in UK enterprise, the Government's Strategic framework for Women's Enterprise set out a long term vision to build a culture for enterprise with the overall objective of increasing the numbers of women starting and growing businesses (www.lda.gov.uk). Going on from this, there is a realisation that there needs to be an element of diversity in the planning for female business support, how is it possible to ensure that all women can obtain information, support and advice on their businessthese may for example include Black and Minority Ethnic women.. (Business Priorities for Women's Enterprise in London Draft Consultation, LDA). Although Street Cred has been engaging with Bangladeshi women and supporting them into self-employment since the project started in 1999, there has not been, until now, any specific research carried out into the barriers facing this group of clients. This arisen from a lack of resources for such research rather than a lack of interest. Street Cred has always strived to listen to and understand their clients needs, so in this way the project has developed to address specific needs.

This paper
The focus of this paper is upon the barriers to self-employment experienced by Bangladeshi women in the UK and to explore various solutions that might be developed to assist Bangladeshi women to overcome these barriers. This research has, to date, taken place in London within the Bangladeshi community of the east London borough of Tower Hamlets. It is intended, before the end of the research period (April 2008), to include input from a geographically wider range of Bangladeshi women within London. The research question explored here was; what are the barriers that affect Bangladeshi women entering into self-employment and what are the possible solutions to those barriers?

This working paper puts forward interim findings from the research. These will be added to by further research undertaken by Street Cred and by any external input forthcoming from the presentation of this paper. The authors and Street Cred would welcome the opportunity to discuss the barriers and solutions identified and to take part in further research pertaining to Bangladeshi women. Whilst this paper offers a brief outline of the history and situation of the Bangladeshi community in the UK it is not its purpose to discuss this in depth but only to set the scene and gain an understanding of the history and culture which informs this research topic.

2. BANGLADESHI COMMUNITY IN THE UK

According to the 2001 census, the majority of the UK Bangladeshi population is based in the London and southeast area. There are approximately 140,000 with most originating from the Sylhet area of Bangladesh. Approximately three quarters of this population live in the Borough of Tower Hamlets, where they represent 33% of the population, with smaller communities in Camden, Newham and Westminster. The Bangladeshi community from Sylheti has a distinct dialect and a strong cultural identity. It is recognized as a tight knit with strong internal communication networks and traditional core values that centre on the family, community and business. The Bangladeshi population is one of the youngest in the UK with a high percentage of women in the 15-29 age range. There are some strong recurring factors to be found in the Bangladeshi communities in the UK. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has carried out a wide variety of research on this community. Looking at their findings, several characteristics are evident. In terms of community, there is a preference to live in multi-generational households. Many live in wards with a predominately minority ethnic population and are most likely to live in the most deprived wards. There is an expectation in the older generation that the custom of arranged marriages is kept and that traditional divisions of labour within households are maintained. There is also concern to ensure children have access to cultural or religious activities.

High unemployment & low levels of economic activity

There is high unemployment amongst men, low levels of economic activity amongst women, low pay and large families. Accordingly, 60 per cent of Bangladeshis are categorised as poor, with incomes less than 50% of the national average. This equals four times the poverty rate of the white population. The social security system provides a high proportion of income for Bangladeshi people with a third arising from means-tested benefits. In 2001, 36% of ethnic Bangladeshi residents in LBTH were economically inactive (compared to 26% of white). Educationally, while there are lower rates of educational attainment, those who have degrees risk the same poverty levels as a white person with no qualifications at all. (www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/foundations/110.asp) To try to give some background to this research, it is important to get a picture of Bangladeshi women and their rates of self-employment. In fact, there is very little data regarding Bangladeshi owned businesses overall. The new London Bangladeshi Business Network has recognized this and stated that one of their aims is to gather base line in order to provide appropriate support to these businesses. Tower Hamlets note that Bangladeshi females between 16 and 74 years old have an economic inactivity rate of 75.2% within their borough (www.towerhamlets.gov.uk).

A source of very useful information is recent work from the SBS (2006) regarding womens business ownership drawing on an analysis of the 2001 Census. This shows that the selfemployment rates of women are lowest within the Bangladeshi community at 0.9% as shown below in the table used in the report.

Figure 1: Self-employment Rate by Gender of All Aged 16-74 England & Wales Note: White refers to White British, White Irish and White Other groups; Ethnic Minority refers to Non-White Ethnic Minorities.

In 2004 Bangladeshi and Pakistani women had the highest working-age economic inactivity rates in Great Britain (75% and 69% respectively). These rates were up to three times the rates for White British, White Irish and Black Caribbean women (between 25% and 26%). The majority stated they were looking after their family or home (Annual Population Survey, Feb 2006).The 2001 Individual Sample of Anonymised Records gave a sample of 25,199 working age (aged 2064) self-employed women, which when multiplied by 33.3, estimates that there were 839,126 selfemployed women in England and Wales in 2001. This estimate can be broken down by selected ethnic groups to show that in 2001 there were 779,919 White, 22,144 Indian, 4,861 Pakistani, 999 Bangladeshi, 4,628 Black Caribbean, 3,796 Black African, 8,857 Chinese, 6,227 Mixed ethnicity, and 7,692 Other ethnicity self-employed women, aged 20-64, in England and Wales. Working-age men and women from non-White ethnic groups were generally more likely than those from White groups to be economically inactive, that is, not available for work and/or not actively seeking work. Reasons include; being a student, being disabled or looking after the family and home. Within each ethnic group, women were more likely than men to be economically inactive.

3. STREET CRED & WORK WITH BANGLADESHI WOMEN

Street Cred is a project of Quaker Social Action, which is a regeneration charity that has been working to reduce poverty in east London since 1867 and therefore, has developed a strong presence and reputation in the community. Street Cred is a micro-credit project that has been adapted from the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Street Cred provides free advice, support, business training and micro-credit loans to women who are unemployed or on benefits in four boroughs of East London to develop their business ideas. Street Cred was developed in 1999 as a response to the needs of women, mostly Bangladeshi, from the local community to access small amounts of start up money to enable income generation. In the eight years that Street Cred has operated, it has engaged with the Bangladeshi community and this has enabled it to develop its services to meet the needs of that community. At present, Street Cred has a full time development worker focusing on Tower Hamlets and its Bangladeshi community and this has greatly enhanced the projects ability to engage with and carry out this research in the community.

Barriers to self-employment
Street Cred has had experience of working with Bangladeshi women to assist them into selfemployment since 1999. From this experience we have developed a strong awareness of the barriers faced by Bangladeshi women who would like to explore self-employment. We described a list of these below. Whilst we have this experience and can list barriers, it was thought important that research was carried out to ensure that the information on barriers was current and also, that it came directly from Bangladeshi women living in the east end of London in 2007. The following table lists the barriers that the Street Cred team has come across when working with Bangladeshi women in east London during 1999-2007. Low confidence and self-esteem Childcare and other caring responsibilities No access to networks of people in the same situation No identification with business as described in mainstream Perceived lack of experience and skills Prejudice and stereotyping potentially from suppliers, and mainstream support/finance Lack of information about available services Lack of access to affordable finance Lack of knowledge about U.K regulations and unfamiliarity with jargon used in business sector/ mainstream business support sector. Bad previous experiences of learning Lack of marketing skills Family dynamics and expectations working against individual aspirations Faith and community expectations/ perceptions in relation to finance, suitable types of business, ideas of success/ achievements Difficulties in breaking into mainstream markets Lack of relevant real-life role models Language barriers Appropriate business support services.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research has been carried out by members of the Street Cred team, using the following methodologies: focus groups, informal conversations, Introductory Workshops, existing research, discussions and a conference.

4.1 Focus groups - with an existing group of 55 Bangladeshi female clients. 4.2 Informal conversations - with potential new Bangladeshi clients identified through
outreach carried out by the Street Cred team.

4.3 Introductory workshops - The barriers regarding entry into self-employment were
discussed at the Introductory Workshops held where Bangladeshi women were present. The majority of this evidence gathering was undertaken by Dinar Ali, a British born member of the Bangladeshi community of East London. The fact that Dinar Ali is a member of the community, as well as having the experience of working with Bangladeshi women from the first, second and now the third generation for the last ten years and has very strong links with the community has made a strong contribution to the success of the research. As a development worker for this project, Dinar supports women into self-employment by providing, basic business training, ongoing support and micro credit loans. Through this work she has built a strong reputation in the community and relationships with community organizations and their workers. This meant that respondents would speak to someone who is a trusted member the community. It should be recognised that Street Cred provides its services to women who are unemployed or on a low income. Consequently, the evidence that gathered came from Bangladeshi women who fit into that socio-economic profile and is not representative of experiences of all Bangladeshi women. This research was carried out in London and mainly in the Bangladeshi communities of east where the Street Cred project operates. However, through our links with community organisations serving the Bangladeshi community in other areas of London, it was possible to include Bangladeshi women from other areas in London in this research.

4.4 Existing research - In the process of this project, we have looked at existing research;
whilst there is some work on the barriers faced by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and some on Bangladeshi women and employment, there is little focus on self-employment and barriers.

4.5 Bangladeshi Women & Self employment: Options, Barriers and Solutions conference
The other main approach to evidence gathering was from a one-day conference with 58 delegates held in November, 2007. The aim being to bring together Bangladeshi women, project staff from those working with the Bangladeshi community and business advisors who had experience of working within the community. The first part of the conference was used to discuss the option of self-employment and to promote it to project staff as an option that they could promote to their service users. Through the work that Street Cred has undertaken in east London, it is evident that many organisations and projects are not raising self-employment as an option and this in itself is a barrier. At the conference, five discussion groups were set up, each with a facilitator who took notes on ideas put forward which were identified as barriers to selfemployment for Bangladeshi women and then, what were seen as possible solutions to such.

The table below is a transcript of barriers and solutions raised and discussed during the conference. These have been separated out into five different categories of Culture, Religion, Attitudes, Education and Training and Business and Finance. Categories Culture Barriers Lack of family support/ lack of independence within a family structure/ too many extended family responsibility/ or no extended family for support in childcare/family given priority therefore limited time for business development Cultural emphasis/ traditional reasons and values/ customs might be a hindrance/ lack of community support due to narrow mindedness/ Perception of both sexes and their role in life/ not taken seriously/ dress/image/ women in business Male attitude-fear of losing control, insecurity, (Male domination)/ resisting change/concerned about women progressing more/ power shifts when women earns more then her husband, concern about interaction with men Solution Helping sisters within our families Educate family and friends to advantages of women in business Childcare provision/ crche facilities/ Child care facilities more geared to cultural and religious awareness Getting positive support/ network/partnership working/ better community support Look into culture background and community/ urban vs. village Include husband in business Family workshops involving the whole family Understand power and relationships Educating positives matriarchs about

Partner with the right man for you

Religion / Faith Confusion over religion and culture/ lack of understanding of own religion Educate leaders in mosques and then educate people/ work with community Leaders (Imams at mosques) Educate that business/ faith culture do not need to clash Emphasize to husband that marriage is an equal partnership according to religion Develop Islamic finance products Sharia law on finance Personal attitude towards business and self-employment Lack of confidence/ personal belief I cant do it / in your product services or skills/ low self esteem/ fear of failing again and again. Self employment does not have a guaranteed salary, as oppose Can do attitude/belief in oneself and let be know/ find others who are in your situation (build up a group network) Create a Bangladeshi womens club to share experience and resolves issues

to employment

Allay fears Relevant role models More ambassadors enterprise of women

Using status and marketing Encourage others and self to think BIG

Education Training and knowledge

Language barrier Lack of training knowledge and education/ Lack of recognition of qualification and skills gained in previous country of residence Highly qualified Bengali women find it hard to find partners on the same qualification levels. Information to complex/ not in the right language Misinformation

Attain relevant qualifications Better educational structure (to promote life skills)

Business support and Finance

Loans have interest (haram) Lack of capital No recourse to public fund Financial burden-poverty

Develop Islamic finance Small loan provision such as Street Cred micro credit system

Promote organisation such as SC Educate all different types and sizes of business Research extensive Being thorough in checking viability of your business More validation from others Network more in schools communities Advertise to grow awareness More accessible loans and

Welfare state barrier Organisations need support to support SC? Lack of female business advice/ lack of ongoing support Eligibility criteria for business support More flexibility within support organisation

Tokenism with business support agencies Business language not catering for ethnic minority

Reacting positively to feedback Be a good leader to self and staff More organisations offering support and creating pathways to action/ supporting women into self-employment Clear aims and objective/find out what you want and then how to achieve it Business course/business plans Suitable for needs of clients

5. FINDINGS
In this paper, we are discussing the findings to date and asking for comments on this research so there is a more complete picture of the barriers and solutions. There is much work to be done to really unpick these groups of barriers identify the underlying causes and from that, understand how real and long lasting solutions can be developed. This will enable the rates of business start-ups by Bangladeshi women to increase to a level with the rest of the UK population. The findings from the research have been placed in five main categories: Culture; Religion; Personal attitudes; Education, training and knowledge; and Business support & finance. Although some barriers have a combination of factors they have been placed in the category that is seen as the main one that is creating the barrier for Bangladeshi women considering and entering into self-employment.

5.1 Culture
The cultural aspects that impact on Bangladeshi women entering into self-employment really centre on the traditional family structures and expectations that exist. The family unit plays an important role with marriage and children being of very high importance for Bangladeshi women many of whom have an expectation of being married by the age of 20 with pressure often being applied by the older generation. Often the family is the foundation for both 'social and economic life'. Dependency is placed upon the eldest, whose responsibility is to care and provide for the

others in the family. The family will reside in one household and when the son marries the wife will be brought to his home. The family and the extended family is the basis from which the family might socialise. It is seen as a protective and closed circle where duty, respect and love are key factors. After marriage the cultural expectation is that women should stay home and run the household. For a Bangladeshi woman, household activities and taking care of a dependent family member is almost always the case. Women who come to the UK on a marriage visa will be particularly subject to this expectation. This group of women can find it very difficult to find employment. The principal factors in this are that they are new to this country, unfamiliar with the processes of gaining employment, have little or no qualifications and often have a language barrier. Culturally within households men are seen as the breadwinner and women as the ones who have the task of raising a respectable family. If they are to work, then ideally it should be part-time. This enables them to devote enough time to their caring responsibilities of looking after the household and their family duties. Most Bangladeshi women choose to stay at home when they have children, and those who carry on working usually look to family support for childcare needs. For those interviewed that were in employment, they try to work around family commitments often by taking up part time jobs and working flexible hours. This in turn can have a negative effect on their education and career. Following marriage, having children is important traditionally, there was a pressure from the older generation to have children soon after marriage and this expectation persists within some families. This can be attributed to the fact that married couples now want to provide more in terms of financial support as well as giving time to children as they are growing up. There is now however, within some families, a change in attitudes, as the Bangladeshi community now has members who are of second and third generation, and many go on to further education and employment before getting married. Some of the older clients interviewed admit that when they were younger, they did not feel that education for women was of that much importance, as long as they knew how to be a good homemaker. Their thinking around this has now changed and they encourage their daughters to study and take up a career. Lack of family support can often hinder a business idea while support of the family unit can be the foundation to a successful business by providing support in terms of assistance with childcare, family responsibilities and financial resources. The pressure of family responsibilities can be a disincentive to setting up a business. In the Bangladeshi community family responsibility is expected to be given priority and can include taking care of in-laws, children and majority of the household work. Otherwise, it will change the dynamics of the whole family, which is a challenging thought for many as this is not the perceived norm. However, many of the interviewees felt that if the family earned an income through self-employment, this would mean an improved lifestyle for the whole family. There was a need for this vision of improved financial prospects to be shared with the family and that this might help family members see self-employment in a positive light and support Bangladeshi women family members in setting up a business. Street Cred clients from the Bangladeshi community choose self-employment as an option because it allows them to have flexibility and enables them to work around family commitments. It also allows them to in an environment that they are comfortable with and where they can generate income from a source that they choose. A high percentage of the clients see part-time work as suitable as they do not view themselves as having a role as breadwinners but they can make use of their skills to have an independent income where they can decide where it is spent or to contribute to the household. This is supported by the recent report from Links UK, the national arm of Community Links entitled Self-Employment and Micro-entrepreneurs: Informal Trading and Journey towards Formalisation. The study was based on 23 semi-structured interviews, eight of which were Bangladeshi women from Street Cred. When asked the question, how important is the income from informal Trading towards the house hold income? 1 said that it is marginal and 7 said that it is partial.

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SOLUTIONS SUGGESTED In the possible solutions that were suggested there was a need for more solidarity and help from the female members of extended families to enable those who wish to start their own businesses. Added to this there seems to be a need to educate that extended family on the advantages that there can be from starting a business. And that this does not need to be seen as at odds with the traditional role of women within their families. There is a need to get both male and female members of the community supportive of women entering into self-employment, particularly those women with power within families and communities. Perhaps a solution would be family workshops. The levels of need for these solutions are dependent on the attitude and background of a particular family group. Not all Bangladeshi families have the same attitudes and knowledge around selfemployment. To enable women to take forward business ideas there is a need for more and better childcare provision/ crche facilities. There was also a suggestion of a need for childcare providers to be educated to the cultural and religious needs of the community so that suitable facilities can be provided. What the overall solutions here seem to be are around the Bangladeshi community and the need for members of that community to change their attitude to women entering into self-employment and to develop supportive community networks and systems to enable those women to take their ideas forward and contribute to the economic development of that community. The suggestions were often around the needs of getting a positive support/ networks/partnership working/ better community support.

5.2 Religion
There are different religions observed in the Bangladeshi community. The women interviewed during this research were all Muslim and for the purposes of this paper the religion referred to is Islam. Religious barriers to Bangladeshi women entering into self-employment are hard to disengage from cultural barriers. Many members of the Bangladeshi community themselves may not be able to decide which factors are cultural norms and which are faith based as religion and culture are so strongly intertwined. Although each Bangladeshi Muslim woman observes her faith on her own personal terms and in an individual manner, her faith is still a centrally important part of her life. The main religious barriers that might emerge are around sectors to work in. the Islamic faith prohibits being employed in certain jobs such as those involving alcohol or meat, particularly if it is not halal. For some it is also important that they do not come into contact with men who are from outside their immediate family. In order to gain the support of their families, some of the business women felt that the family needed to be educated in terms of culture and religion and the actual teachings of the Islamic faith. They saw that the Islamic faith teaches that women in Islam have an invaluable role in the heart of their families, their communities and the wider society and all women are need to be educated and have a place as role models, as they are the ones that bind their families together and make their communities stronger. It was felt that the solution lies in education and raising awareness with the assistance of people of authority within the community such as the Imams of the mosques and reaching and influencing the community to change attitudes through them.

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An example of this is an event on self-employment for Bangladeshi women, held in the East London Mosque. At this event, the Imam gave a talk to the delegates about how Islamic faith sees employment and said that it was acceptable for Bangladeshi women to be in self-employment. This was related back to the fact that the Prophet Mohammeds (PBUH) wife had been a self-employed woman. However, the Imam stressed the fact that it was important that Bangladeshi women did not forget their family responsibilities. This type of engagement with traditional community leaders is important in order to inform and change attitudes within the community. For business advisors it is important that they have an awareness of the importance of faith on their clients and to have at least a small degree of knowledge of what the elements of that faith are. An example of this is that one of the basic rules of Islam is that men and women who are not from their immediate family are not allowed to have any form of physical contact therefore, hand shaking is not allowed. Having an awareness of this will prevent any embarrassment or awkward situations. This will enable them to take these needs into consideration and provide suitable services for their Bangladeshi female clients. Another religious barrier is around finance for business. To adhere to the Islamic Shari-ah law on finance has been raised as an important issue. This requires a specific financial product for business start-up finance to be developed and made available to those that require it. SOLUTIONS SUGGESTED The solutions that centred on religion were on raising awareness and educating the recognised leaders within the community. These can often be the same people who are leaders in mosques. Members of the community may have concerns and need guidance on whether business and faith are at odds. There is also a need to raise awareness to husbands and perhaps to all members of the family of what Islam says regarding marriage. Islam states that marriage is an equal partnership. A particular area of concern to many Muslims is regarding the need to have financial products that are compliant with Shariah Law. There is a huge lack of provision of this type of financial product in the market.

5.3 Personal attitude

To have a positive personal attitude to self-employment is essential. If the self-belief and confidence necessary for business start-up are missing, this will often lead to abandonment of the idea of setting up a business. Women are more likely to let the fear of failing stop them before they start to develop a business and this results in women often being defined by their cautious approach to business start-up. Particularly true in the Bangladeshi community is the fact that women lack role models and are less likely to know someone that has started their own business. They are also less likely to feel that they have the skills needed to start a business and maybe less likely to see and pursue business opportunities. The attitudes of other members of the community can impact on the attitudes of the individual Bangladeshi female. There is often an attitude that if it is not a business where you are clearly going to make a lot of money then what is the point in bothering with it. There may be an attitude towards the type of business, e.g. some women consider it to be an embarrassment to tell local neighbours about a catering business run from home, as opposed to a sari shop. This is reflective of a class system within the community where having a catering business may be seen as demeaning and a lower class activity. There is often a lack of information around self-

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employment and some people who are actually working at home may not even see themselves as being self-employed and most certainly not an entrepreneur. Often, thinking about what they see as being the perception of non-Bangladeshis towards a Bangladeshi woman can further hinder them from taking the business to the next level. There may be a level of concern regarding the negative media portrayals of Islam and what a non-Muslim might be thinking when approached by a Muslim person. Being confident about ones appearance is important; many clients will not leave their traditional dress to promote themselves in business. There is an issue about whether Bangladeshi may use this as an obstacle from further developing ones business. This is based on concern over non-Muslims perception might be. However there is the opportunity to challenge those perceptions to enable people to gain a positive experience by drawing people attention to what they say and do, and not the type of clothes they wear. SOLUTIONS SUGGESTED

There was a lot of discussion around the attitudes of women in the Bangladeshi community. However there was a realisation that Bangladeshi women are not all the same and there are some very successful female owned Bangladeshi businesses. To develop a more positive community attitude and to encourage Bangladeshi women to consider self-employment there is a need for relevant role models to be given a higher profile and who could be ambassadors for selfemployment. What would seem to be needed is the development of support structures and use of relevant role models to encourage a can do attitude /belief in oneself. This would be also be encouraged by perhaps networks where women who are experiencing similar situations could share and support each other. A suggestion was to create a Bangladeshi womens club to share experience and resolves issues. There was mention again in this section of the need to allay fears. These are the fears of women who may be thinking of becoming self-employed and may stem from the instability that may be experienced. There is a second group of fears from other members of the community who may be concerned that women who become self-employed will shift away from their family and cultural responsibilities. Solutions for this would involve working with the community leaders to build a more positive picture of women and self-employment.

5.4 Education training and knowledge

Part of the barrier here is the need for Bangladeshi women to be assisted and encouraged to recognise the transferable skills that they have and realizing the potential that they have as an individual. Starting a business can help with this process and inspire them to get further qualifications and training. Conversely, there is the need to have training in place before individuals are in a position to consider business start-up. Although education and training is a large barrier for those from the first generation of Bangladesh immigrants it is increasingly less of a barrier for those who are second or third generation. Language is, for some, a large barrier. Most of the older generation have not been born in the UK and have limited, or no English, when they immigrated to the UK. This, together with a lack of formal qualifications, created barriers to both employment and self-employment, particularly in jobs that were outside the Bangladeshi community. However, some of the clients at Street Cred have started in business despite the language barrier. These businesses focus on using their existing skills and not on qualifications. Often, if supplying services to their own community, these businesses do not involve the need to gain high levels of language skills. SOLUTIONS SUGGESTED

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What came through in this section regarding solutions was the need for Bangladeshi women to gain relevant qualifications. This may be linked to a need to have a more positive attitude to the education of women in all areas of academic achievement. There was seen to be a need for a better educational structure to promote life skills. This is also linked to a need to recognise the transferable skills that women have that can be used in a business setting.

5.5 Business Support & Finance

The traditional language around business creates a barrier, as it does not assist individuals to see business as something that they could do or, that relates to what they are doing, even if they are already self-employed. The language needs to be broken down, as many do not relate to words such as enterprise, and entrepreneurs. Business advisors need to use language that will relate to their clients. An example of this is, instead of using Start your own business use instead, earn money for your self or give yourself a job. With the consideration of the other barriers such as culture and religion business advisors need to ensure that business support and training is not just about profits but has a holistic approach. Also, business ideas involving small, home-based, parttime business are often not taken seriously by business advisors. Another barrier is a lack of female business advisors, as many Bangladeshi women would not feel comfortable in the company of men who are from outside their immediate family. Community support organizations have a role to promote self-employment to their service users. Self-employment can provide a route out of poverty and social exclusion particularly for Bangladeshi women for whom employment has the same, or perhaps even more, barriers than self-employment. Many of the interviewees raised the issue about access to finance. This can be a barrier particularly if they are on benefits or a low income. There is also an issue around the lack of access to business start up finance that is compliant with the Islamic Shari-ah law on finance. SOLUTIONS SUGGESTED The solutions that came forward regarding business support were that there were more organisations offering support and creating pathways to action/ supporting women into selfemployment. From this there was a need for those business support organisations to be suitable to the needs of the clients. This is about service provision and about staff development and training so that they are aware of the needs of clients so that they can shape their approach. Part of this is the need for advice and training to be provided in a way that is pitched at the level needed and in a way that is relevant to the types of businesses that are being developed. A lot of this solution is around the need for less jargon in training materials, particularly in the early stages of business development, as this has been identified as a barrier to people progressing with their business ideas. Another solution that was suggested was the need for more networking in schools and communities to encourage self-employment as an option. This is something that business support organisations could do and is linked to the need for them to advertise more to the Bangladeshi community to raise awareness of their services. Part of the responsibility for these solutions was also put on the Bangladeshi women who were in or entering into self-employment. There was seen a need to have clear aims and objective and to find out what you want and then how to achieve it. There was a need to be realistic and thorough in checking the viability of your business ideas. This is about taking initiative and control over what you want to do but was also tempered by the need for others to give your business ideas

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validity and to give Bangladeshi women entering into self-employment a positive environment in which to develop their businesses. Regarding finance the solutions where focussed on the need to develop access to finance and also to the development of appropriate financial products. The main need that was identified was to have Islamic finance. This is one way that entrepreneurs can be helped to balance their selfemployment with observing their faith. A solution that was put forward was for there to be more small loan provision such as Street Cred micro credit system.

6. POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS
This research has implications for a range of individuals and organisations. For potential Bangladeshi female entrepreneurs it could lead to support services being delivered in a more appropriate manner suitable to their needs. For business advisors, this research can help to shape services to the needs of this particular client group. They can develop a better understanding of Bangladeshi women coming to them for business support and how to reach out to these clients. This research can also help to remove some of the stereotypes that exist around Bangladeshi women. The methodology can be adapted and used by others to gather information on client groups regarding their needs and to create sustainable affective solutions to any barriers that exist. There is also a need to develop this research unpick the causes of barriers highlighted and to develop sustainable solutions. There are implications of this research for those involved in education and training. There were issues raised around education, including the language used and accessibility that can be taken on board and from which service delivery can be adapted.

7. CONCLUSION
This research was undertaken to identify responses to the question what are the barriers to self-employment that are experienced by Bangladeshi women in the UK and what solutions can be developed to assist Bangladeshi women overcome these barriers?. Initially, it was envisaged that the solutions to these barriers would be put in place by business support organisations but, from looking at the suggested solutions it can be seen that these involve a much wider range of stakeholders e.g. involving community leaders to change perceptions of self-employment and empowering Bangladeshi women to challenge the barriers that affect them. There are certain limitations to this research. The women interviewed are all from the Bangladeshi community in East London and the majority are from the same socio-economic group. It can be seen that there is a need to have a wider representation of Bangladeshi women. Looking at the barriers, it can also be seen that the issues facing Bangladeshi women are those that can face any woman from any culture to a certain degree, but that some are experienced at a higher level for women from the Bangladeshi community. It is possible to perhaps look back and see that women in the UK would have faced these barriers in the not too distant past. There is the need also to recognise that women, and again Bangladeshi women, should not be viewed as a homogeneous

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group as each will have a very personal experience of these barriers. One of the major influences on this is their socio-economic status and, if they are married, that of their husbands family. Another factor affecting how women experience these barrier is whether they are from the first, second or third generation of Bangladeshi immigration and is reflective of what stage of acculturation the individual is. Street Cred will continue with this research until April 2008 as part of their contract with the LDA and then use their involvement with the Bangladeshi community and organisations to develop it further on a more ad hoc basis in the course of their project work. We would welcome any input and support from others interested in this subject and carrying on or adding to this research. The key contribution of this paper is that it adds to the existing body of research on womens enterprise and, more particularly, to that on ethnic womens enterprise. The research that has been carried out was done in the heart of the Bangladeshi community in east London and contains valuable anecdotal evidence from Bangladeshi women. Its importance is that the members of that community described both the barriers and the possible solutions to those barriers.

REFERENCES
BERR, 2005. The Way Forward 2005-2008. The Ethnic Minority Business Forum. Available at: www.berr.gov.uk/files/file38528.pdf Accessed 12 January 2008 BODEN, R. 2005. The UK Social Security System for Self-Employed People. Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fr Sozialforschung, http://skylla.wz-berlin.de/pdf/2005/i05-104.pdf . Accessed 12 January 2008 CARTER, S. AND SHAW, E., 2006. Womens Business Ownership: Recent Research and Policy Developments, Report to the Small Business Service. London. DCLG,2006. Engaging with Muslim Women: A report from the Prime Ministers Event 10 May 2006. London: Department for Communities and Local Government. DWP, 2006. Barriers to Pakistani and Bangladeshi Women into Employment. London. Department of Work and Pensions, Research Report DWPRR 360. DWP, 2007. Pakistani and Bangladeshi Women Attitude to Work and Family. London. Corporate Document Services, Research Report 458. September 2007. Available at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp. Accessed 12 January 2008. GARBIN, D. Bangladeshi Diaspora in the UK: socio-cultural dynamics, religious trends and transnational politics. University of Surrey. DRAFT VERSION - JUNE 2005. Available at www.swadhinata.org.uk/studies.htm accessed 9 January 2008

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LONDON DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. Business Priorities for Women's Enterprise in London Draft Consultation. London. Available at www.lda.gov.uk, accessed 10th January 2008 OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS, 2006. Annual Population Survey, January 2004 to December 2004. London. Office for National Statistics PROWESS, 2004. Bridging the Enterprise Gap: strategies to support socially excluded women into self-employment. Norwich. Prowess Ltd. WEIR, G. (2003) Self-employment in the UK labour market. Labour Market Trends September 2003. Available at ww.statistics.gov.uk/articles/labour_market_trends/self_employment_1203.pdf. Accessed 10 January 2008. LINKS UK, 2007. Self-Employment and Micro-entrepreneurs: Informal Trading and Journey towards Formalisation. Draft Report. Community Links. London. WEBSITES www.ipa.co. uk/diversity/communities_asian.html accessed 9 January www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/foundations/110.asp as retrieved on 5 Jan www.banglalink.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=39&task=view&id=120 23k. Accessed 9 January 2008 www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/discover/data/borough-profile/data/boroughprofile/population/data/ethnicity.cfm. Accessed 10th January 2008

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