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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Print: 2576-0556 Downloads: 1353891 Total View: 9133489
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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.08.010

Entrepreneurial Engagement Among Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges in Paid Employment Versus Self-employment

Yuxin Qin

University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.

*Corresponding author: Yuxin Qin

Published: August 26,2025

Abstract

Ethnic minorities in advanced economies face persistent barriers in paid employment—hiring discrimination, wage gaps, and higher unemployment—that constrain mobility and dignity. This study evaluates entrepreneurship as a more advantageous pathway for minority workers, especially immigrants, and asks how gender, skills, and social networks shape that choice. Drawing on international evidence and theory, we synthesize labor-market disadvantages, document higher self-employment rates, and analyze mechanisms: opportunity recognition, social capital, and ethnic enclave support. We highlight gendered dynamics—entrepreneurship enabling minority women to reconcile care responsibilities and human-capital underutilization, and minority men leveraging networked resources and provider norms. We also identify structural obstacles to minority enterprise, including credit constraints, biased finance, limited managerial experience, and growth ceilings from overreliance on co-ethnic markets. Policy implications include targeted credit access, childcare and training supports, and place-based strategies that strengthen bridging networks while avoiding enclave lock-in. Overall, entrepreneurship emerges as a viable route to income, autonomy, and status, yet requires equitable ecosystems to thrive and social recognition.

Keywords

Ethnic minorities; Entrepreneurship; Labor market discrimination; Self-employment; Ethnic enclave effect; Gender and entrepreneurship

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How to cite this paper

Entrepreneurial Engagement Among Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges in Paid Employment Versus Self-employment

How to cite this paper: Yuxin Qin. (2025) Entrepreneurial Engagement Among Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges in Paid Employment Versus Self-employment. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science9(8), 1529-1534.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.08.010