Limitations encountered by Women “Petty Traders” in Urban Areas of Penang

• Main Author: Ramasamy, Lalitha
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: LB Theory and practice of education
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/26274/1/QRS%202018%2089%2098.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/26274/; http://www.qualitative-research-conference.com/index.php/qrc-2018/proceedings

Poverty alleviation has been a major challenge for developing countries such as Malaysia. Despite of the successive implementation of the Five Year Plan, a slow pace of expansion of the formal economy has contributed to the low labour absorption in the country. As a result, the informal sector plays an important role in providing sustainable livelihood to the unemployed. In the recent era women are increasing their numbers in entrepreneurial activity, particularly in micro enterprise, but the question arises on how many of these women managed to sustain in their entrepreneurial journey. The main objective of this paper is to examine the limitations faced by women petty traders in the course of starting and operating their businesses and also examine the effects of these limitations on their business in Penang, Malaysia. The study is based on an aided questionnaire and in depth interviews with women petty traders drawn from a purposive sampling of 30 petty traders operating in the morning market located in the urban area of Penang. The findings showed that these women petty traders are facing limitations in the areas of finance (58%), education and training (13.7%), family responsibilities (21.3%) and unreliable suppliers (7%). Most of the respondents are unaware of the policies and programmes of the government regarding entrepreneurship. These limitations faced by the respondents are affecting their business growth and success. Considering the sample size and research context the generalisation of the findings may need to be applied with caution.