Ethnography of Female Diaspora Networks: The Emerging Case of Pakistani Female Entrepreneurs in London

Abstract

The business environment of a host country reflects the complex interplay of multiple social, cultural and religious factors with the lives and work of ethnic minority women. The distinct social context of each ethnic or immigrant group determines its position in the host country. Every ethnic minority group has its unique characteristics, social and cultural conventions and resources that facilitate or constrain their entrepreneurial endeavours. As social actors, ethnic minority entrepreneurs draw support and resources from the ‘network of social relations’; hence it is the ‘social network’ that facilitates or constraints the social actors’. It is the formation and utilization of a network of relationships that shapes the entrepreneurial outcomes which are not independent of external factors. Exploration of the outcomes of the interplay of gender, ethnicity and religion shaping the personal network of Pakistani female entrepreneurs forms the focus of this article in which ethnographic inquiry is used to explore the ‘meaning and perception’ attached to social relations by Pakistani female entrepreneurs in a special ethnic and immigrant context. Gender as a ‘social practice’ influenced by religious and cultural values leads Pakistani females to maintain ‘women only networks’ and rely on kinship networks. Transition from ethnic to non-ethnic and expansion of network is the outcome of mistrust on ethnic community members.