Networking among female ethnic minority entrepreneurs

The labor market in the multicultural society is a major arena where the interrelation of gender and ethnicity is expressed in processes of discrimination, sexism and racism. For women from ethnic minorities, one way to avoid these problems is to work in migrant enterprises. As this may ease tensions related to ethnicity, it does not solve gender-related problems like the subordination of women and the perception of female migrants as ‘just’ daughters, mothers and wives by male co-migrants. Female ethnic minority entrepreneurship may be the way to escape such processes. In the Netherlands, 25% of all ethnic minority entrepreneurs are female. However, little is known about their socio-economic background and the way they perceive their businesses. Moreover, there is a theoretical haphazardness concerning the phenomenon female ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Although recently researchers have opted for an integral theory called the ‘mixed-embeddedness’ approach as to explain ethnic minority entrepreneurship through a combination of personal, sociocultural and structural factors, the role of gender still seems to be underexposed in this theory. Likewise, the literature concerning entrepreneurial networking has hardly interfered with both gender and ethnicity. Therefore, this paper provides a state of affairs concerning the research and literature on ethnic minority entrepreneurship, gender and networks. It argues that a better understanding of female ethnic minority entrepreneurship requires further scientific attention and that a contribution needs to be made to theory development regarding the interrelation of ethnicity and gender in entrepreneurship and in entrepreneurial networks particularly.

Depression and physical disability in chronic pain: The mediation role of emotional intelligence and acceptance

Emotional intelligence (EI) and acceptance have previously been identified as potential factors in the adjustment to chronic pain (CP). This study examined the associations between CP experiences, depression, and physical disability. It further investigated the mediating effect of EI and acceptance in the relationship between CP experiences, depression, and physical disability and how this changes with the duration of the CP. Method: A cross-sectional design, employing validated questionnaires, was used to measure pain experience, physical disability, depression, EI, and acceptance in 133 CP patients. Results: All variables were found to be significantly associated in theoretically predicted ways. The relationship between CP experiences and depression was mediated by both factors, as high EI and acceptance promoted a decreased influence of pain on depression. By contrast, the relationship between CP experiences and physical disability was mediated by acceptance, but not by EI. Further, the temporal stability analysis of this mediation model showed that long-term CP patients are better able to make use of these factors. Conclusions: The relationship between the experience of pain and depression or physical disability seems to be significantly mediated by factors such as EI and acceptance. This study lends further support to the development of more encompassing models that take both control and non-control variables into account when conceptualising the adjustment to CP. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.