18_jwe_3-4 DOI: 10.28934/jwee18.34.pp34-44 SCIENTIFIC REVIEW Women as Entrepreneurship in Algeria Ghiat Boufeldja1 Faculty of Ssocial Sciences, University Oran 2– Mohamed Benahmed, Algeria A B S T R A C T Algerian society is undergoing social, economic and cultural changes that have led to the improvement of women’s conditions and their opening on work. At the university, young women are getting to fields of studies, used to be a monopoly for men, such as mechanical engineering, agronomy, civil engineering, etc. In spite of the environmental socio-cultural constraints and as result of unem- ployment crisis, young women choose the entrepreneurial jobs. Women’s entrepre- neurship is a new phenomenon in the Algerian society that needs to be highlighted. Within this perspective, a study was carried out and visits to 30 enterprises led by women, and interviews were carried out with them. That helped to shed light on the characteristics of women entrepreneurs in Algeria, as well as activities and profile of their enterprises. It was concluded that most women entrepreneurs are young, with university degrees. They are constraint to start their own businesses as self-employed or set up micro enterprises, employing between 1 and 5 employees, mainly from their families and working informally KEY WORDS: Women entrepreneurship, socio-cultural environment, social change, working women 1 E-mail: ghiat_boufelja@yahoo.fr Boufeldja, G., Entrepreneurship in Algeria, JWEE (2018, No. 3-4, 34-44) 35 Introduction The Algerian state gave importance to education and development of human resources without any distinction between genders. That encouraged young women to access to the universities, aspiring for better occupational and social positions. The traditional jobs of Algerian women were limited to some female jobs in catering, education and health. But by the end of the twentieth centu- ry, educated women accessed different occupational domains, mainly in civil services, education, nursing including higher positions such as doctors and lectures in higher education. Algerian society begins to see women in positions of responsibility, as supervisors and managers. Many of them chose to be entrepreneurs, which indicate that the country is experiencing profound social and cultural chang- es. Beside the different environmental and socio-cultural inhibitors, several factors pushed women towards entrepreneurship, which can be considered as catalysers, made available by the families and the state as encouragement (Ghiat, 2016). Entrepreneurship is new in Algeria, as she went through a period of so- cialism where entrepreneurship was the business of the state, before opening on the market economy. Men entrepreneurs encounter several clerical and economic barriers. It is a difficult task for men to venture into entrepreneurial activity in an envi- ronment full of challenges and constraints. In this difficult environment, women face challenges to venture into an entrepreneurial activity in a male society. The profile of women’s entrepreneurship can be studied from two points of view: − The women entrepreneurs, their ages, their level of instruction, their occupational experiences and their occupational training. − The women’s enterprises, their sizes, their necessity or opportuni- ty, their familial relations with employees and their formality. − The objective of this paper is the study profiles of entrepreneurship in Algeria, with special attention to women entrepreneurs and their socio-cultural constraints. Strategies developed by women entre- 36 Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education (2018, No. 3-4, 33-44) preneurs to confront the constraints of a male society will be ex- amined. The profiles of female’s enterprises are highlighted. Women’s Educational and Economic Developments Algerian women are highly motivated to study in order to improve their social and occupational positions. That was encouraged by the spread of education, including higher education. The girls became the majority of stu- dents in Algerian universities, even in scientific fields of study, known as masculine fields. As a result of these improvements, it became obvious for women to hold social, occupational and political situations. The employment strategy of the state pushed for the inclusion of wom- en in the working market through employment structures. Women are also motivated by the will to get rid of their traditional marginal position, tending to get empowered through entrepreneurship (Adema, William et al., 2014; Dwivedi, N. T., 2013). The availability of education and a reform of educa- tion programs according to the needs of this population group affect a de- crease in discrimination directly (Radović-Marković, 2016). Several educational, economic and environmental factors helped the propagation of women entrepreneurship, as presented in figure 1. Figure 1: Factors motivating women towards entrepreneurship After the opening of the market economy in the late 20th century, the majority of entrepreneurs were males. But with the increasing number of female graduated from Algerian universities, and because of rampant unem- Improvement of women’s’ instruction instruction Women getting jobs High rate of unemployment Women entrepreneurship Social & economic developments Economic crisis Deficiency in creating jobs Boufeldja, G., Entrepreneurship in Algeria, JWEE (2018, No. 3-4, 34-44) 37 ployment, girls begin to move more and more towards the business entre- preneurship. The business of entrepreneurship needs entrepreneurial psychological characteristics and an emancipative behaviour, which collide with local tra- ditional culture. Culture and Entrepreneurship Women’s attitudes and behaviours are heavily influenced by the local culture linked with Islam and Arabian traditions that limit women’s freedom mainly in relation with males (Kilani, 1998). Being an entrepreneur requires a strong personality and capacity to manage the behaviours and attitudes of people in a complex and often hos- tile socio-cultural environment. Psychological qualities such as patience, perseverance, communication abilities, decision-making, confrontation of administrative, human, technical and material problems, as well as adaption to unforeseen changes are badly needed for women entrepreneurs. This may be contrary to the nature of women in Arab- Muslim envi- ronments. In Algeria, women are known for their sentimental characteris- tics, are often influenced by others, and find difficulties to confront difficul- ties which are usually left for men. The fact that women became entrepre- neurs in Algerian society, explain that there is a change in the personality of modern Algerian women. Figure 2: Factors affecting attitudes and women’s behaviours Social culture Social view towards women Women’s behav- iour Social 38 Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education (2018, No. 3-4, 33-44) The negative attitudes, cultures and the type of socialisation affect the personality of Algerian women. As pointed out by Rachdi, "The socialisa- tion of girls does not help to develop their confidence, their autonomy, their sense of risk and taste of innovation: skills which are necessary in any indi- vidual who wants to develop and manage their own business " (Rachdi, 2006). In spite of the persisting constraints, the fact of the expending of wom- en entrepreneurship, prove that fact a change in mentality, culture and be- haviour of modern Algerian woman, and explains the entry of women into various occupations, including entrepreneurship. Environmental Constraints and Entrepreneurship of Necessity The absence of a healthy socio-cultural environment and a culture of entrepreneurship resulted in many complex obstacles facing women entre- preneurs. Women are aware of this fact, and are obliged to set up enterprises to face unemployment and financial needs. A conceptual distinction is made between entrepreneurship of necessity or forced and entrepreneurship of opportunity or voluntary (Giacomin, et al., 2010 p. 213). According to Giacomin, "We need to talk about entrepreneur- ship or coerced when an individual creates his company, among others, the lack of alternative employment and / or family stress, and opportunity en- trepreneurship or voluntary when an individual creates his enterprise in par- ticular following the discovery of an opportunity and / or to the desire for independence "(Giacomin, et al., 2010 p. 213). The lack of experience, resources and entrepreneurial culture, has made the majority of businesses created by young people in Algeria was by neces- sity, to avoid unemployment, not results of enthusiasm and motivation. Berreziga and Meziane have concluded that "Entrepreneurship in Algeria is qualified as a "survival entrepreneurship" where the entrepreneur creates his company by social constraint, he creates it by necessity and not for purpose of exploiting an opportunity." (Berreziga and Meziane, 2012, p.1). Despite the importance of female entrepreneurship, most of them are forced by ne- cessity. Algerian women, like other Arab women entrepreneurs, suffer from: “Traditional and cultural practices, religion’s involvement, gender inequali- ties, lack of networking and training, absence of entrepreneurial culture, family responsibility” (Bouguerra; 2015, 95). Boufeldja, G., Entrepreneurship in Algeria, JWEE (2018, No. 3-4, 34-44) 39 That is why most female entrepreneurs activate informally, in order to avoid paying the different taxes, except those benefiting from the state’s financial assistance through (ANSEJ) who are obliged to have a “commerce register”. Female entrepreneurship in Algeria is not studied enough, in particular its socio-cultural constraints, and management styles of women entrepre- neurs in a male environment. Research Methodology In order to understand the reality of women entrepreneurship, inter- views were carried out with 30 women self -employed and entrepreneurs. Questions about personal information and profiles of their enterprises were asked. Doctoral students in organisational psychology participated in the collection of data. Research questions: The objective of this research is to answer several questions about the profiles of women entrepreneurs and their enterprises, as follows: 1. Profile of women entrepreneurs − What are their ages? − What are their levels of instruction? − Have they followed a training program related to their activity? − Have they any occupational experience? 2. Profile of women’s enterprises − How big are their enterprises? − Are they a result of necessity or opportunity? − What are the kinship relations with employees within the enter- prise? − Are they formal or informal? Results from the collected data, gave the following results. Results Statistical data about personal information about the interviewed wom- en entrepreneurs and their enterprises as presented in tables (1-6). 40 Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education (2018, No. 3-4, 33-44) Profile of Women Entrepreneurs Table 1: Sample distribution according to age Ages 20 - 30 years 06 20.0% 31-40 years 13 43.3% 41-50 years 06 20.0% 51 years and more 05 16.7% Total 30 100% The age of the majority of women of the sample is between 20 and 40 years old (63.30%). Table 2: Sample distribution according to marital status Marital status Single 10 33.33% Married 17 56.70% Divorced 01 3.30% Widow 02 6.70% Total 30 100% The sample contains mainly married women (56.70%). Table 3: Sample distribution according to the level of training. Primary Secondary University Total Level of instruction 02 11 17 30 Percentage 6.7% 36.70% 56.70% 100 % The majority of surveyed women entrepreneurs have a level of univer- sity education (56.70%). Table 4: Main motivation behind the choice of occupation: Reason behind the choice of the business activity Frequency % Activity of a family member 09 30.00 Personal tendencies 09 30.00 Specialty study 06 20.00 Husband’s activity 04 13.30 Profitability of the business 02 6.70 Total 30 100.0 Boufeldja, G., Entrepreneurship in Algeria, JWEE (2018, No. 3-4, 34-44) 41 The majority of firms in the sample (Table 3) are activating in service sector, followed by industry. Profile of Women’s Enterprises Table 5: Sample distribution according to the sector of activity Sector of activity Frequency % Sewing 07 23.31 Catering & Pastry 05 16.65 Nursery 04 13.32 Hair dressing 04 13.32 Crafts 03 9.99 Computing 02 6.66 Commerce 02 6.66 Public Works 02 6.66 Chemistry 01 3.33 Total 30 100.00 Table 5 shows that the majority of activities are in sewing women’s traditional dresses (23.31 %), catering and pastry (16.65 %), Nursery (13.32 %) and hair dressing (13.32 %). A limited number of women entrepreneurs are interested in building and public works (3.33 %). Table 6: Years of activity: Years of activity Frequency % Less than 5 years 14 46.7 5 -10 07 23.3 11-15 02 06.7 over 15 years 07 23.3 Total 30 100.0 The majority of businesses touched by this study are small, newly cre- ated (less than 5 years), and with a number of workers between (2 and 9). 42 Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education (2018, No. 3-4, 33-44) Discussions Although there are few women entrepreneurs who manage medium and large companies, there are several women executives and directors of public companies in senior positions. This demonstrates their capacity to manage, and are not less competent compared to men. The women entrepreneurs in Algeria are young, less than forty years old in their majority, which is on line with the results of an investigation led by Ouadah Rebrab and Cherif, who concluded that women entrepreneurs in Algeria are young (between 25 and 30 years old) (Ouadah Rebrab and Che- rif, 2015). The investigated sample showed that (56.00 %) of the studied sample are married, and have family responsibilities. (56.00 %) have uni- versity degrees, and their level of education is higher than their male col- leagues. The results, as presented in table 5, show that women activate mainly in services, liberal and craft sectors. The same results are reached by (Ouadah Rebrab and Cherif, 2015). Most women entrepreneurs are pushed to create their enterprises as a result of unemployment and material needs, they often support financially their families. Most enterprises created by women can be classified as con- straints enterprises, and that explains the fact that they are microenterprises, and women entrepreneurs do not think of expanding to small or medium enterprises. From the different interviews, it is clear to us that women entrepreneurs are highly motivated and have strong personalities, marked by a spirit of adventure and initiative. These qualities are necessary for the success of entrepreneurship. This proves also that women have personal and professional skills that allow them to overcome the toughest strains. They can even compete with men in fields used to be reserved for them exclusively. The majority of women entrepreneurs complain of socio-cultural con- straints. Management strategies tailored to their situations, are often devel- oped by women entrepreneurs, in order to overcome their difficulties in managing their business, and to overcome their obstacles. As far as the enterprises created and managed by women, most of them are newly created (less than 5 years), activate in services (46.7 %) and only (13.3 %) activate in public works. Boufeldja, G., Entrepreneurship in Algeria, JWEE (2018, No. 3-4, 34-44) 43 Most interviewed women entrepreneurs reported that they received support and assistance from their friends and family members, and that was a valuable contribution that helped them to overcome the encountered prob- lems. This support is badly needed to overcome these constraints and to succeed in their tasks, in a male society. Conclusion Women entrepreneurship is a new phenomenon in Algeria and special attention should be given to it. Algerian women entrepreneurs are constraint to start up their business as a result of complex environmental and socio- cultural constraints. Several women entrepreneurs have succeeded in their projects as a re- sult of their psychological characteristics and managerial abilities. They have proved themselves as business women, and have a strong will to con- front the challenges of a male society. 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