Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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    The entrepreneurial experiences of black African women entrepreneurs in South Africa: The role of compensatory capital
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Cross, Eunice
    This qualitative study explores the entrepreneurial experiences of black African women entrepreneurs in South Africa. These women have established growth orientated, scalable, and socially and economically impactful businesses. They operate in a diverse range of industries regarded as male-dominated and have harnessed financial resources for their businesses. The study illuminates the contextual structural constraints they encounter as business owners, and how they cultivate capital and position their agency towards sustaining their businesses and accessing finance around their structural constraints. More specifically, the study shows that black African women entrepreneurs from historically disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds offer specific compensatory and learned resources that facilitate their integration, adaptation and inform their coping strategies in a challenging business environment. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 28 participants in South Africa. The participants were identified using snowballing and purposive sampling. Data were inductively analysed using ATLAS.ti. Epistemologically, the study draws from Bourdieu’s theory of social practice and his concepts of field, habitus, and capital, and Cross and Atinde’s theory of compensatory capital, to map out the entrepreneurial experiences of black African women entrepreneurs. The findings relating to compensatory capital represent the main contribution of this study. Despite a progressive regulatory equality framework in South Africa, the research underscores that black African women entrepreneurs in South Africa are subjected to gender and racial discrimination, and patriarchal stereotyping in their business operation and fund- raising efforts. The findings revealed that the participants’ personal characteristics, motivations, skills, and knowledge, rooted in their earlier life experiences, assisted with navigating obstacles in their business environment. These include, amongst others, their confidence in their ability, dedication to hard work, resilience, optimism, and early-age entrepreneurial and financial skills, which influenced their later entrepreneurial behaviours. Further, the participants leveraged informational resources (academic qualifications, work experience, training, and networks) to enhance their competence, credibility, and competitive advantage in their business environment. Their social networks involved strategic alliances iii with men in the business environment who had legitimacy and capital highly valued to counteract gender and racial bias. The study lays a foundation for future empirical studies on the concept of compensatory capital in the field of entrepreneurship. The insights from this study and its recommendations may assist in the formulation of future policies and interventions in South Africa aimed at promoting women’s participation and advancement in entrepreneurship and enhancing their financial inclusion.
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    An examination of tampon tax and how it effects the social, health and economical aspects of countries including a comparative analysis of how some countries have dealt with tampon tax
    (2019) Asmaljee, Sumaiyah Safi
    Tampon tax is a colloquial term in common usage describing taxes levied on female menstrual hygiene products that are taxed as luxury goods in spite of the fact these items are considered necessities such as food and medicine, which are either exempted or taxed at 0% in some countries. Tampon tax in South Africa is the levying of value-added tax (VAT), to female menstrual hygiene products. Internationally, activists have initiated various campaigns and protests for the removal of tampon tax as it is not regarded as a luxury but rather a necessity, and South Africa has followed suit. There have been various campaigns and initiatives towards making female menstrual hygiene products more affordable and/ or accessible to the females from low-income households in South Africa. Reduction in sales tax rates, removal of goods and services tax on female menstrual hygiene products and the utilisation of the income earned from sales tax on female menstrual hygiene products are options available to negate the economic effects of tampon tax on females in their reproductive years. This paper discusses tampon tax and its effect on social, health and the economic well-being of South Africa. The paper will include comparative analyses to what is being done in some countries to alleviate the negative effects of the tampon tax. This paper will also examine the value-added tax in South Africa. Arguments in favour of and against tampon tax are also discussed.