Gender and Family in Transnational Entrepreneurship

The current process of globalisation is not only about increasing cross-border flows of capital, goods and services, but also about people moving
often from developing to developed areas in search of a better life. The role of
women in these dislocations is increasing as they are counted on to provide for
their families, while in many cases still expected to conform to traditional
nurturing roles or to fill the gaps in nurturing roles left by ‘career women’. On a
larger socioeconomic context, taking their habitus and social, economic and
cultural capital with them to the new territories and institutional set-ups,
these immigrants are affecting urban economies in ways beyond the formal
economy and accepted social norms. Drawing on empirical evidence from
cross-national studies, we explore this phenomenon within the context of the
European Union and migrants coming in from developing countries. Most of
the empirical data consists of a comparative study on undocumented worker
transitions (UWT-project), conducted by an international research team
in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy, Spain and the UK. It includes
210 qualitative interviews with immigrants involved in the informal economy.
Additionally, 84 interviews with stakeholders’ representatives such as unions,
public and semi-public agencies were conducted.