Bettering and balancing : experiences of maternal self-employment in urban and rural Nova Scotia

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dc.contributor.advisor Narisada, Atsushi
dc.coverage.spatial Nova Scotia
dc.creator Sanders, Emma L.
dc.date.accessioned 2022-08-10T12:06:31Z
dc.date.available 2022-08-10T12:06:31Z
dc.date.issued 2022-05-02
dc.identifier.uri http://library2.smu.ca/xmlui/handle/01/31002
dc.description 1 online resource (37 pages)
dc.description Includes abstract.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (pages 34-37).
dc.description.abstract Advancing the “push-pull debate” (Hughes, 2003), this research draws on Budig’s (2006) disadvantaged worker and class-mobility hypotheses to identify the push and pull-factors that inform mothers’ decisions to self-employ in Nova Scotia. A review of literature examining maternal self-employment revealed three key limitations: (1) a frequent reliance on quantitative, national survey data, (2) a focus on macro-level geographic context, and (3) a lack of comparative analysis of two or more geographic contexts. To address these gaps, this research employed a qualitative approach to examining the influence of meso-level geographic context. The following questions were addressed: (1) What push and pull-factors do mothers identify in their experiences with self-employment? (2) How does urban versus rural residence shape mothers’ experiences of self-employment in Nova Scotia? Qualitative data was collected through six semi-structured interviews with urban and rural self-employed mothers and analyzed using thematic content analysis. While unique rural constraints and resources were discussed, the primary push-and pull-factors into self-employment were identified by urban and rural participants, alike. Participants more strongly emphasized pull-factors toward self-employment, including the ability to reduce work-family conflict and increase control. Within self employment, identified constraints included a loss of income and increase in workload and responsibilities, while resources included community support and social networks. Participants suggested that mothers’ experiences in both wage-employment and self-employment could be improved through the expansion of government programs and increased advocacy for scheduling flexibility and work-family balance in the workplace. Findings reveal that mothers navigate and weigh multiple push and pull-factors when deciding to self-employ, indicating that further qualitative research is needed to fully capture mothers’ unique experiences. en_CA
dc.description.provenance Submitted by Greg Hilliard (greg.hilliard@smu.ca) on 2022-08-10T12:06:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Sanders_Emma_Honours_2022.pdf: 746298 bytes, checksum: ddec6f848682f23a2d8d003ac2564d71 (MD5) en
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2022-08-10T12:06:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sanders_Emma_Honours_2022.pdf: 746298 bytes, checksum: ddec6f848682f23a2d8d003ac2564d71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2022-05-02 en
dc.language.iso en en_CA
dc.publisher Halifax, N.S. : Saint Mary's University
dc.title Bettering and balancing : experiences of maternal self-employment in urban and rural Nova Scotia en_CA
dc.title.alternative Bettering and balancing
dc.type Text en_CA
thesis.degree.name Bachelor of Arts (Honours Sociology)
thesis.degree.level Undergraduate
thesis.degree.discipline Sociology
thesis.degree.grantor Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.)
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