Women entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector: issues and challenges

The purpose of conducting this study is to explore problems faced by women entrepreneurs with regards to gender issues, and their perceptions when they are dealing with male counterparts during business transactions. An inductive approach had been used as the design methodology for the purpose of this research. Interviews with a sample of women agriculture entrepreneurs allowed for in-depth exploration of their subjective experiences and the contexts in which these were situated. Data analyses were performed with the NVIVO software. The findings revealed that the research subjects encountered persistent gender stereotypes, a paucity of female role models, resistance from associates within and outside of their organisations, and societal pressures to maintain appropriate levels of work-family balance. The limitations/implications were in the form of similarities of the responses from the participants. Most of the answers were not so different amongst the respondents. Further studies need to be carried out, with more participants and time allocated for the purpose. This is necessary to fully understand the issues faced by women entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector