{"id":{"repo_id":"whiterose","oai_identifier":"oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:1464"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/whiterose/oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:1464","repository":{"repo_id":"whiterose","name":"White Rose University Consortium","base_url":"https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"Trapped in ideology. The limitations of micro-finance in helping women creating viable micro-businesses","abstract":"My research asks whether or not micro-finance represents a viable alternative to waged employment for women, as is the current international policy claim. To answer this question, I compared the accounts of 22 micro-finance agency employees in the UK and in Belgium with those of 20 self-employed women who received support from these agencies. The results suggest that there are major differences between what most agency employees imagine being problems for women in self-employment (e.g. lack of confidence, lack of training), and what women actually ex- perience (e.g. competitive markets pressures, low-profit sectors, insufficient regular unpaid helpers in their businesses). The data collected among these 20 women has also revealed that most self-employed women earn low or no income in self-employment, and wage employment would represent a better alternative to meet their needs. My thesis is that the individual’s quest for self-fulfilment at work and the current political argument for the increase of economic growth through micro-businesses have favoured the idealisation of both self-employment and micro- finance for women.","abstract_html":"My research asks whether or not micro-finance represents a viable alternative to waged employment for women, as is the current international policy claim. To answer this question, I compared the accounts of 22 micro-finance agency employees in the UK and in Belgium with those of 20 self-employed women who received support from these agencies. The results suggest that there are major differences between what most agency employees imagine being problems for women in self-employment (e.g. lack of confidence, lack of training), and what women actually ex- perience (e.g. competitive markets pressures, low-profit sectors, insufficient regular unpaid helpers in their businesses). The data collected among these 20 women has also revealed that most self-employed women earn low or no income in self-employment, and wage employment would represent a better alternative to meet their needs. My thesis is that the individual’s quest for self-fulfilment at work and the current political argument for the increase of economic growth through micro-businesses have favoured the idealisation of both self-employment and micro- finance for women.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Desmedt, Emmanuelle"],"institution":"University of York","degree_name":"Ph.D","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Perriton, Linda","Pendleton, Andrew"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-07","date_published":"2010-07","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:04:44Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["uk.bl.ethos.535071"],"render_values":[{"text":"uk.bl.ethos.535071","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Perriton, Linda","Pendleton, Andrew"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Desmedt, Emmanuelle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2010-07-12"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2010-07"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.commercial","label":"Dc Publisher Commercial","values":["University of York"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["School for Business and Society","Management"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of York"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/1464/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Ph.D"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["uk.bl.ethos.535071"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/1464/1/desmedt_thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["My research asks whether or not micro-finance represents a viable alternative to waged employment for women, as is the current international policy claim. To answer this question, I compared the accounts of 22 micro-finance agency employees in the UK and in Belgium with those of 20 self-employed women who received support from these agencies. The results suggest that there are major differences between what most agency employees imagine being problems for women in self-employment (e.g. lack of confidence, lack of training), and what women actually ex- perience (e.g. competitive markets pressures, low-profit sectors, insufficient regular unpaid helpers in their businesses). The data collected among these 20 women has also revealed that most self-employed women earn low or no income in self-employment, and wage employment would represent a better alternative to meet their needs. My thesis is that the individual’s quest for self-fulfilment at work and the current political argument for the increase of economic growth through micro-businesses have favoured the idealisation of both self-employment and micro- finance for women."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Trapped in ideology. The limitations of micro-finance in helping women creating viable micro-businesses"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Perriton, Linda","Pendleton, Andrew"],"dc:creator":["Desmedt, Emmanuelle"],"dc:date":["2010-07-12"],"dc:date.issued":["2010-07"],"dc:description.abstract":["My research asks whether or not micro-finance represents a viable alternative to waged employment for women, as is the current international policy claim. To answer this question, I compared the accounts of 22 micro-finance agency employees in the UK and in Belgium with those of 20 self-employed women who received support from these agencies. The results suggest that there are major differences between what most agency employees imagine being problems for women in self-employment (e.g. lack of confidence, lack of training), and what women actually ex- perience (e.g. competitive markets pressures, low-profit sectors, insufficient regular unpaid helpers in their businesses). The data collected among these 20 women has also revealed that most self-employed women earn low or no income in self-employment, and wage employment would represent a better alternative to meet their needs. My thesis is that the individual’s quest for self-fulfilment at work and the current political argument for the increase of economic growth through micro-businesses have favoured the idealisation of both self-employment and micro- finance for women."],"dc:format":["text"],"dc:identifier":["uk.bl.ethos.535071"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/1464/1/desmedt_thesis.pdf"],"dc:publisher.commercial":["University of York"],"dc:publisher.department":["School for Business and Society","Management"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of York"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/1464/"],"dc:title":["Trapped in ideology. The limitations of micro-finance in helping women creating viable micro-businesses"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["doctoral"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Ph.D"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:04:44Z"}