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

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.