Friday, 24 July 2020
Researchers are looking for mothers who are entrepreneurs to share their experiences of the coronavirus pandemic as part of new research into the societal impact of COVID.
A multidisciplinary team from the University of Nottingham, the University of Hertfordshire, Swansea University and the University of York, is studying how female entrepreneurs with children have managed the dual challenges of running a business and managing childcare through the turbulent months of the pandemic.
Women can participate in the study by taking part in a short survey that captures their experiences of lockdown life - juggling childcare with the demands of their business – through a mix of photographs and comments. This will generate useful data to provide better support for mother entrepreneurs as the pandemic evolves, and into the ‘new normal’ future.
For busy mother entrepreneurs, or mumpreneurs, the challenge to navigate their business safely through the pandemic is compounded by a parallel challenge to cope with unexpected family responsibilities. COVID-19 creates a particularly acute problem for working women. Recent evidence from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests, for example, that women have taken on the majority of childcare during the pandemic and that mothers in two-parent households are only doing, on average, a third of the uninterrupted paid-work hours of fathers1.
We already know how hard female entrepreneurs work to establish and grow their businesses, as well as managing domestic duties – now throw in a pandemic, with children home from school, in many cases indefinitely! This will have had an enormous impact on these women, their businesses and their personal wellbeing.
We need to know exactly how women, their businesses and their families were – and still are - affected and, as they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words. By asking mum entrepreneurs to submit a few photographs and some comments, we will develop a snapshot of the practical and emotional challenges of juggling all of these responsibilities.
Dr Anna Watson, study lead and Reader in Marketing at the University of Hertfordshire commented: “Women are already facing barriers in business, with issues around access to funding and balancing caring responsibilities, and only one in three UK entrepreneurs is female. A report by the HM Treasury2 found that losing the entrepreneurial gender gap between women and men could add an additional £250 billion in GVA to the UK economy. Covid-19 has magnified some of the challenges facing mother entrepreneurs and our research can help inform the development of support tailored to their needs as they navigate the ‘new normal’ of running a business in the midst of a pandemic.”
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Simona Spedale at Nottingham University Business School at Simona.Spedale-Latimer@nottingham.ac.uk; or Katie Andrews in the Press Office at the University of Nottingham at katie.andrews@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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