Global Congress on Women Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Quality of life in the poor rural communities of Bangladesh depends upon the economic, social, and personal well-being of all the people who are part of the village way of life, particularly the women entrepreneurs who have taken the opportunity to use microfinance to advance their business ideas. In the continuation of a longitudinal study, we find that the entrenched usage of microloans for the payment of illegal dowry to grooms’ families continues to distort community social cohesion, entrepreneurial activity and quality of life, increasing the vulnerability of women entrepreneurs, and exacerbating gender violence, perpetuating spousal physical, emotional sexual and socioeconomic violence against young women. A climate of fear pressures rural families to take sizable microloans not for their stated purpose of supporting entrepreneurial activity but instead to pay dowries to keep their daughters safe. 
We explore the intersecting vulnerabilities in poor rural Bangladeshi communities that have led to the proliferation of microfinance-funded illegal dowry payments including the compounding effects of social, cultural, and personal challenges that women entrepreneurs encounter in these communities. With an intersectional approach, we aim to broaden perspectives of the key relevant vulnerabilities putting poor rural women entrepreneurs at risk. The paper concludes by considering policy solutions to address this ecology of issues. Between January 2001 and December 2019, in Bangladesh, there were over 5,800 reported dowry-related incidents of violence against women (Odhikar 2023). In addition, over 3,300 women and girls were murdered over dowry disputes during that time. 

Biography

Dr Laurel Jackson; Director Postgraduate Education School of Business
Qualifications
•DPHIL University of Western Sydney
•GCRS University of Western Sydney
•MBA (AGSM) University of New South Wales
•DipEdu University of New South Wales
•BA University of New South Wales

Laurel is Director of Postgraduate Education in the School of Business at Western Sydney University. Laurel holds a PhD in Management and Marketing focused on sustainable, financial development in emerging communities, a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education from the University of New South Wales. She had twenty years of senior corporate experience in banking and finance prior to joining the university.
Her area of research and academic writing is focused on the role of market-based approaches to poverty reduction in developing countries. In particular analysing the role of microfinance in poverty alleviation and exploring new opportunities for entrepreneurship within poor communities and considering the role that social cohesion and social networks play in supporting sustainable economic development in these communities.