Metropolis - Toronto Centre of Excellence

1999 RFP FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS

A. Economic Domain

1. An Analysis of Socioeconomic Situation by Ethnocultural Groups, Periods of Immigration and Gender for Canada and Toronto CMA: 1986, 1991 and 1996 Compared

Research team (lead researcher, partners):

Edward B. Harvey, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto

Kathleen D.V. Reil, COSTI

Start date: May 1999

Date of completion: September 2000

Amount awarded from CERIS: $12,988

Abstract

This analysis of immigrants reveals a direct relationship among ethnocultural group affiliation, recency of immigration and the socioeconomic status of immigrants. Our analysis covers a period of 35 years of immigrant experiences in three geographic regions. It demonstrates the persistence of high unemployment, low employment incomes and serious poverty for a core of ethnocultural groups, mainly of visible minority backgrounds.

The results of a comparison of immigrant experiences in Canada, Ontario and the Toronto CMA further reinforce this picture of the deteriorating status of visible minority immigrants in the 5 year period between the 1991 Census and 1996 Census (in all three geographies). In 1991, visible minority immigrants experienced a higher unemployment rate, lower average employment income and higher poverty level than their non-visible minority counterparts. Five years later, their socioeconomic status was worse.

Outcomes / results obtained:

CERIS support enabled us to obtain from Statistics Canada a special tabulation of 1996 Census Canada data that showed the socioeconomic situation for 58 ethnocultural groups at the Canada, Ontario, Toronto CMA and Vancouver CMA levels of geography. The socioeconomic situation dimensions included employment income, unemployment and incidence of low income as measured by Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off (LICO). The data in the special tabulation also enabled us to control for gender, and in the case of immigrants to Canada, control for period of immigration.

In addition to the special tabulation of 1996 Census data, we also examined data from a wide range of Canadian studies of ethnocultural groups and immigrants. The study also made use of special tabulation data from the 1991 Census of Canada which have been obtained with earlier support from CERIS. In comparing the 1991 and 1996 Census of Canada special tabulation data, a number of notable patterns were discovered for the five year period.

Our analysis used three socioeconomic indicators: (a) average unemployment rate; (b) average employment income; and (c) average percent below the low income cut-off (LICO) or poverty level. The analysis compares 1991 and 1996 Census data for the geographies of Canada, Ontario and Toronto CMA. The results show that visible minority immigrants are disadvantaged in comparison with immigrants who are not visible minorities.

Unemployment Rates

Between 1991 and 1996, overall, the unemployment rates for both visible and not visible minority immigrants have decreased, with a larger decrease for not visible minority immigrants in the geographies of Canada, Ontario and Toronto CMA. For immigrants who are not visible minorities, the unemployment rate decreased by 3 or 4 full percentage points: from 10.8 percent to 7.8 percent at the Canada level; from 11.5 percent to 7.4 percent at the Ontario level; and from 11.7 percent to 7.6 percent at the Toronto CMA level. In comparison, unemployment rates for visible minority immigrants decreased only slightly by 0.2 percent to 0.7 percentage points at the Canada and Ontario levels from 14.4 percent to 13.7 percent and 13.7 percent to 13.5 percent respectively. At the Toronto CMA level, the unemployment rate for visible minority immigrants actually increased slightly from 13.1 percent to 13.4 percent. This suggests that, for visible minority immigrants, during a period of improved economic growth (1991-1996), the recovery from unemployment is not as fast as that for their counterparts who are not visible minorities.

Average Employment Incomes

Across Canada, Ontario and Toronto CMA, average employment incomes have decreased between 1991 and 1996 for visible minority immigrants, yet they have increased for immigrants who are not visible minorities. Visible minority immigrants experienced a real decrease in earnings when 1991 data are compared with 1996 data.

In Canada, the average employment income for visible minority immigrants decreased by $1,082, yet increased by $909 for immigrants who are not visible minorities. In Ontario, the average employment incomes for visible minority immigrants in Ontario decreased by $783, yet increased by $1,992 for immigrants who are not visible minorities. The pattern is repeated in the Toronto CMA, where average employment incomes of visible minority immigrants decreased by $1,313, yet increased by $3,013 for immigrants who are not visible minorities. The Toronto CMA data show the largest differences of the three geographic areas examined in this study.

Visible minority immigrants experienced a real decrease in average employment incomes when 1991 and 1996 data are compared: A decrease of $1,313 from $25,919 in 1991 to $24,606 in 1996 in Toronto CMA. Similar patterns of decrease for visible minority immigrants are found in Ontario and Canada as a whole.

These findings suggest that, even during a period of improved economic growth, the employment income level of visible minority immigrants has deteriorated in this 5-year period and the gap in employment incomes between visible minority immigrants and immigrants who are not visible minorities has in fact widened further.

Poverty Level

The poverty levels (as measured by the LICO) for all immigrants have increased between 1991 and 1996. However, it is higher for visible minority immigrants than it is for immigrants who are not visible minorities. Visible minority immigrants in Toronto CMA experienced the largest increase in poverty levels (from 20.9 percent in 1991 to 32.5 percent in 1996) when compared with their counterparts in Ontario and Canada.

In addition, the levels of poverty actually increased more in the Toronto CMA for both visible minority immigrants and immigrants who are not visible minorities, when compared with the average for Ontario and Canada.

For visible minority immigrants, in Canada, there was an increase of 9.2 percentage points in the poverty level between 1991 and 1996. In Ontario, the increase was 10.9 percentage points for the same time period. In the Toronto CMA, the increase was 11.6 percentage points for the same time period.

The poverty level for immigrants who are not visible minorities also increased between 1991 and 1996. However, these increases are much smaller: In Canada, the increase was 3.4 percentage points. In Ontario, the increase was 3.6 percentage points. In the Toronto CMA, the increase was 4.6 percentage points.

These findings show that, in a period of improved economic growth, the poverty situation of immigrants has actually worsened. This is contrary to conventional thinking, which inclines to the view that everyone benefits from economic growth. In fact, poverty is more widespread for visible minority immigrants than for immigrants who are not visible minorities. In particular, visible minority immigrants in the Toronto CMA are persistently more disadvantaged than their counterparts in Ontario and Canada.

Contribution to Policy Development

Our research confirms that the initial years after immigration are the most difficult for all immigrants, however, these years are particularly difficult for visible minority immigrants. Recent immigrants experience difficulties obtaining employment in their fields of expertise, obtain part-time employment, or obtain employment in areas unrelated to their fields of expertise. The results are underemployment, unemployment and lower annual incomes and higher levels of poverty. Dr. Harvey and Kathleen Reil have been working with settlement organizations, federal and provincial agencies to highlight the implications of the difficulties experienced by recent immigrants. The research suggests that programs and policies be targeted to the initial five years after immigration. The data further suggest that more policies be directed at identifying and minimizing situations that foster workplace discrimination. In addition, though national patterns exist, there are variations in the three geographic regions investigated. For example, the Toronto CMA, once regarded as the best place for assimilation of new immigrants, may be experiencing a plateau in its ability to assimilate new visible minority immigrants. Further research is warranted, however, to discern the ability of settlement agencies and government agencies to continue to receive and serve immigrants in the Toronto CMA. Our research suggests that existing programs and policies targeted to visible minority immigrants should be evaluated and refined as necessary. In addition, our data pertaining to persistent patterns of socioeconomic disadvantage suggest the need to develop new policies and programs targeted towards visible minority immigrants. The need for policy and program refinement and development is particularly pronounced due to continued financial restraints and pressures on provincial and local settlement organizations.

Conclusions

Based on 1991 and 1996 Census data, this analysis of immigrants reveals a direct relationship between race and recency of immigration and the socioeconomic status of immigrants on a national level. Our analysis covers a period of 35 years of immigrant experiences and it demonstrates the persistence of high unemployment, low employment incomes and serious poverty for a core of ethnocultural groups, mainly of visible minority backgrounds.

The results of a comparison of immigrant experiences in Canada, Ontario and the Toronto CMA further reinforces this picture of the deteriorating status of visible minority immigrants during the 5-year period between 1991 and 1996 (in all three geographies). In 1991, visible minority immigrants experienced a higher unemployment rate, lower average employment income and higher poverty level than their non-visible minority counterparts. Five years later, their socioeconomic status was worse. Between 1991 and 1996, visible minority immigrants clearly experienced a lower rate of recovery from unemployment, a further lowering of their employment incomes, and an increase in their rate of poverty.

Our results demonstrate the persistence of socioeconomic disadvantage for visible minority immigrants in the last 35 years and a further deterioration in socioeconomic situation during the final five years examined in our study (which coincided with a period of economic recovery). Our analysis strongly suggests that reducing or eliminating the socioeconomic disadvantage of visible minority immigrants requires more than economic prosperity. It requires proactive re-thinking and action in the fields of immigration policy, immigrant settlement and integration programs, and the roles that the private sector and community organizations can play in reversing the trends and the directions our results demonstrate.

Community Partnership and Student Training

The partnership with COSTI was, and continues to be, excellent. Mario Calla, Executive Director of COSTI, assisted us throughout the project. For our part, we have provided him with all research outputs and have ongoing discussions about the program/policy implications of our results.

Kathleen Reil received training in the management and analysis of large scale public data sets, has developed a strong background in the research literature relating to immigration and ethnocultural studies and is a participant in all dissemination activity.

Dissemination

-A presentation entitled “Socioeconomic Differences by Ethnocultural Groupings and Period of Immigration” was made at the Fourth National Metropolis Conference, March 23, 2000, Toronto, Ontario.

-Invited participant in CERIS discussions with Danish Parliamentarians on the immigrant ethnocultural experience in Toronto, June 23, 2000, Toronto, Ontario.

-A paper entitled “Aboriginal Peoples Continue to Earn 2/3 of non-Aboriginals, Have Higher levels of Poverty and Have Rates of Unemployment 250 percent Higher than Average – But There Are Some Improvements” was published in Windspeaker, December 2000.

- A paper entitled “Socioeconomic Situation of Immigrants: Variation by Immigrant Attributes and Implications for the Canadian Economy” was submitted to the Caledon Institute for publication.

- A presentation entitled, “ Settlement, Racism and Poverty” was presented at the National Settlement Conference, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, June 19, 2001.

- A presentation entitled “Socioeconomic Experience of Recent Immigrants: Trends, Barriers and Opportunities” was presented at the National Recognizing Learning Conference, Halifax N.S., October 28-31, 2001.

2. Cultural Resources, Ethnic Strategies and Immigrant Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Six Ethnic Groups in the Toronto CMA

Research team (lead researcher, partners):

Lucia Lo, Department of Geography, York University

Marie Truelove, School of Applied Geography, Ryerson Polytechnic University

Carlos Teixeira, Department of Geography, University of Toronto

Association of Somali Service Agencies

Black Pages Canada Inc.

Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business and Professionals

Korean Canadian Women’s Association

Polish Immigrant and Community Services

The Bank of East Asia Canada

Start date: May 1999

Projected date of completion: September 2003

Amount awarded from CERIS: $27,561

Abstract

This study examines immigrant businesses and the construction of ethnic economies in the Toronto CMA by comparing the entrepreneurial behaviour of five immigrant groups: Polish, Portuguese, Caribbean, Korean and Somali, chosen with respect to their wide diversity in levels of entrepreneurship, community sizes, racial and cultural backgrounds, periods of arrival in Canada, and immigration classes. We have three specific tasks in mind. They are: (i) to uncover the structure of these ethno-cultural communities, including their settlement experiences, their rate and nature of sel-femployment, and their business structure; (ii) to seek information on their enterprising behaviour, including strategies, practices, and performance; and (iii) to explore the issues of race/ethnicity, class and gender in entrepreneurship. Census data and a survey were

used to unearth the information. Data from the Canadian Census show that while these five immigrant groups share some characteristics, important differences exist between them in terms of knowledge of the official language, education level, and economic status. The rate of self-employment is higher in some groups than others. The results from the surveys further reveal two important things. First, business development and business success of our immigrant groups is the complex interaction of two important dimensions: characteristics of the groups, and opportunities as well as strategies adopted by them. An examination of individual group business structure, ownership patterns, employee size, advertising strategies and so on indicates apparent diversification overtime. Second, race seems to matter in immigrant business development.

Distinctions are found between Polish and Portuguese on one side and Caribbeans, Koreans and Somalis on the other side. While history of immigration or length of residence, often accompanied by an institutionally complete economy, can in part account for the difference, an underlying structural problem exists in the deployment of visible minorities in the workplace and in the treatment of visible minority entrepreneurs when they apply for business loans or look for business premises. As the first Canadian study trying to understand entrepreneurship as a process in a multi-group setting, our findings have serious implications on future theoretical and policy developments concerning ethnic/immigrant entrepreneurship in a multicultural country such as Canada.

Introduction

In the second half of the twentieth century, Canada was a country in the midst of a profound social, cultural, and economic metamorphosis. Until the late 1940s most of Canada’s immigrant population had come primarily from Great Britain. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, Italians, Germans, Portuguese, and Greeks challenged the primacy of immigrants from the United Kingdom. Following changes in Canadian immigration policy in the mid-1960s, there was a substantial increase in immigrants from non-European countries, with the ethno-racial composition, education, and financial resources of these immigrants varying dramatically (Ray 1994; Bourne 1995; Balakrishnan and Hou 1995; Driedger 1996). With the expansion of the immigration programs in the 1980s, many immigrants with substantial financial assets began to establish themselves in Canada. These new immigrants – mostly Asian visible minorities – have radically transformed the social and economic landscapes of Canada’s cities (Driedger 1996:74).

It is important to recognize that Canadian cities vary dramatically, not only with respect to the ethnic composition of their populations – with some cities being more heterogeneous than others – but also with respect to the tendency of certain minorities to concentrate geographically. For example, by 1996 85 percent of Canada’s immigrants lived in Census Metropolitan Areas1 (CMAs), and more than three-quarters lived in only three Canadian CMAs[a] – Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Immigration has impacted the economic and social geography of these cities in several key ways, including: 1) changes in neighbourhood social composition; 2) the formation of ethnic neighbourhoods, first in the inner city, and then in the suburbs; 3) transformation of the commercial and industrial landscapes in certain parts of the city; and 4) occupational segregation among immigrant groups. The geographic implications are particularly interesting. The settlement patterns of these immigrants range from pockets of ethnic concentration – marked by rich and distinctive ethnic identities – to dispersions lacking any apparent ethnic identity. Recently, the “chain migration” process has led to new arrivals bypassing areas of traditional inner city ethnic concentration, and immediately settling near already dispersed (and partially assimilated) friends and relatives in the suburbs. Recent immigrant groups, with few coethnic connections, also settle extensively in the suburbs, some constrained to cheap rental housing available in some suburbs, and some lured by the large luxurious new homes available in other suburbs. The creation of ethnic sub-markets – whether in ethnic enclaves in traditional neighbourhoods of the inner city, or in a more dispersed pattern in the suburbs – has resulted in a mosaic of ethnic commercial activities in many metropolises. These settlement and commercial patterns both reflect, and contribute to, the economic situation of many new immigrants.

The Toronto CMA is home to over 40 percent of the immigrants to Canada. In 1996, of the total population of the City of Toronto (formerly Metropolitan Toronto), some 47 percent were immigrants, and 32 percent visible minorities (Urban Planning and Development Services 1998). The Toronto economy has been undergoing dramatic changes for at least the past two decades (Rees 1998; Frisken et al., 2000; Gertler 2000), with small business development assuming a particularly prominent role (Marger and Hoffman 1992; Hiebert 1994). The human capital of its immigrants has played a significant role in the growth and development of the economy through both paid and self-employment. One of the most fascinating economic aspects of immigration in Canada has been the number of immigrant communities that have focused on self-employment.

The proportion of immigrants in self-employment – 15.4 percent in 1996 – is much higher than the 11.9 percent figure for the Canadian-born group. When gender is taken into consideration, both immigrant men (19.2 percent) and immigrant women (10.7 percent) show higher levels of self-employment than do the Canadian-born (15.0 percent for men, and 8.4 percent for women). Immigrant self-employment, including entrepreneurial endeavours, is of particular interest given changes in immigration policies over the last thirty years, and considering current economic restructuring and globalization trends (Waldinger et al., 1990; Light, Bhachu, and Karageorgis 1993; Taylor 1995). Changes in immigration policy may be reflected in the fact that, in 1996, 12.2 percent of the Toronto CMA labour force was self-employed. This marks a significant increase of 3 to 4 percentage points over 1991 (Statistics Canada 1999). As well, the phenomenon of globalization – while admittedly controversial in many respects – is of great importance in this regard, as Toronto’s immigrant entrepreneurs and businesses give Canada access into overseas markets that would otherwise be less accessible to Canadian business (Light 2000). Thus, the diversity of Toronto’s immigrants and their businesses has become a significant economic asset to the competitive situation of Toronto and Canada in the new global marketplace (Rees 1998; Qadeer 1999). While there is evidence that many Canadian companies, as well as the Canadian government, are not taking full advantage of the economic opportunities these groups offer, their potential as an economic resource for Canada is undeniable (Taylor 1995; Rees 1998; Qadeer 1999).

At this stage, major gaps exist in the scholarship on immigrant entrepreneurs and their businesses, as well as on the construction of ethnic economies in Canada’s major cities[b]. Few studies have attempted to account for the determinants and processes of ethnic business development. In general, research on immigrant groups in Canada has focused largely on the process of ethnic assimilation, or on the historical development of community organization and immigration institutions in the new society. Relatively few attempts have been made to study the development of ethnic business among immigrant groups.

This study aims to address some of these gaps by comparing the entrepreneurial behaviour of five immigrant groups in Toronto: Polish, Portuguese, Caribbean, Korean, and Somali. In examining the behaviour, strategies, and barriers faced by owners of ethnic businesses, this research will add to the empirical base of knowledge of immigrant entrepreneurship in Canada. These groups were chosen with respect to their wide diversity. They differ in terms of varying levels of entrepreneurship (from 4 percent for the Caribbean group, to over 30 percent for the Koreans), their community size in Toronto (ranging from 9,000 Somalis to approximately 162,000 Portuguese), their different racial and cultural backgrounds (European, Asian or African descent), their periods of arrival in Canada, and the means by which they immigrated to Canada (from chain migration to refugees).

Our overall objective in this study is to add to knowledge about a variety of immigrant groups’ entrepreneurial experiences in Toronto. We hypothesize that inter-group differences exist with respect to the utilization of group resources and the opportunity structures they face. The purpose is to find out if significant difference exists and, if so, why. We have three specific tasks in mind. They are:

(1) to uncover the structure of these ethno-cultural communities, including their

settlement experiences, their rate and nature of self-employment, and their business

structure;

(2) to seek information on their enterprising behaviour, including strategies, practices,

and performance; and

(3) to explore the issues of race/ethnicity, class and gender in entrepreneurship.

Ethnic Entreprenerurship

In an era of accelerating globalization, immigrant businesses and entrepreneurs have been recognized as a critical element in the restructuring of Western industrial economies, as well as in their role of providing doorways into emerging markets overseas (Waldinger et al. 1990; Light 2001). However, in contrast to the US and some European countries (for example, the UK, Netherlands, France), scholarly research on ethnic entrepreneurship in Canada is scant. Apart from a few studies discussing a specific group and/or employing a single explanation or theory (for example, Marger 1989; Chan 1992; Hiebert 1993; Li 1993; Walton-Roberts and Hiebert 1997; Teixeira 1998), our current knowledge on Canadian ethnic entrepreneurship is limited. Although immigrants are more likely to be self-employed than Canadian-born workers, and despite the clear social and economic significance of this aspect of Canadian immigration (see Razin and Langlois 1996; Rees 1998; Lo et al., 2000), there has been little work done on ethnic entrepreneurship in Canada and, in particular, on the dominant role of some immigrant groups in particular areas of the economy.

The Canadian literature that does exist on this issue suggests several general points for consideration. First, the propensity of immigrant groups to be self-employed varies by group, with entrepreneurship being common in some groups and rare in others. For example, self-employment is more common among Jewish, Chinese, Korean, and certain European groups. The least entrepreneurial are Caribbeans, Africans, and Southeast Asians. Second, visible minority immigrants tend to be under-represented in the Canadian business population. One wonders if institutional discrimination is more prevalent among visible minorities. For example, the economic life of Blacks in Canada, mostly from the Caribbean Islands and some from Africa, has been strongly influenced by racism. For them, racism reinforced their desire for self-employment in order to avoid the discriminatory job market, and thus many became entrepreneurs. As well, in the context of discrimination, one of the major problems facing Black entrepreneurs today is obtaining financing from financial institutions to start and/or expand their business. Third, women tend to be particularly underrepresented. They also are more prone to encounter barriers in their search for jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. Fourth, entrepreneurs from some immigrant groups tend to concentrate in particular niches of the economy, for example, Koreans on convenience store operations, Italians in the construction trades, Portuguese in the “cleaning” business, Greeks in the restaurant business, and Blacks in the retail trade. Fifth, immigrant businesses have historically tended to be small in scale, and community- and ethnically-oriented with respect to their clientele. Finally, ethnic entrepreneurship involves a complex mix of problems and benefits for research analysis. The literature is polarized in this regard, with some critics emphasizing the benefits of ethnic entrepreneurship (e.g., social mobility, access to protected markets, structural opportunities) and others emphasizing its problems (e.g., blocked mobility, employer exploitation, inter-ethnic conflict).

Numerous gaps still remain in the literature. For example, relatively few attempts have been made to study the development of ethnic businesses among immigrant groups, or to examine the position of certain immigrant groups – particularly visible minorities – as entrepreneurs within particular sectors of the Canadian economy. The scant literature concerned with the relationship between race and business activity has almost completely ignored the Black experience. In general, studies have attempted to account for the under-representation of visible minority immigrants without giving appropriate attention to the importance of race, or more bluntly, the discrimination factor. In the Canadian context in particular, little is known about either: the reasons for visible minority immigrant business underdevelopment or the causes and consequences of discrimination faced by visible minority immigrants when starting and operating businesses in Canada. At this stage, further investigation is also needed into issues of institutional discrimination, which seems to have limited visible minority participation in self-employment. The literature mainly has attempted to address the social and economic structures within which immigrant businesses are embedded, while neglecting larger political and institutional frameworks (Lo et al. 2000). It is clear that more needs to be learned about the role of ethnicity and race in the Canadian economy. In particular, more attention should be paid to the related issues of minority access to capital and major financial institutions’ attitudes towards minority businesses. As well, the role and impact of immigrant women has hardly been discussed in the literature. Also, most research has remained exploratory and has not been utilized in the

theory-building process (Lo et al. 2000; Teixeira 2001).

In examining immigrant entrepreneurship, scholars have raised some important questions related to the varying levels of business involvement and success of different immigrant/ethnic groups: Why do ethnic and immigrant groups become entrepreneurs? What makes for a successful business venture? Why are some groups more entrepreneurial than others? What are the pros and cons of participating in ethnic businesses, particularly with regard to economic returns? (Waldinger and Aldrich 1990; Barret et al. 1996; Light and Gold 2000)

Several theories have been proposed to address these questions. We can group them into four broad categories. The first, often known as the cultural thesis, focuses on cultural predisposition, with the view that the unique characteristics immigrants bring with them to the host society assist them to succeed in business. These characteristics can be classified as: (i) ethnic resources, such as group solidarity, self-reliance, flexibility, willingness to work long hours, access to an ethnic network that provides credit and workers, and the possession of a capitalist culture; and (ii) class resources, such as education, financial capital, business acumen, and entrepreneurial skills.

The second theoretical perspective emphasizes contextual factors and suggests that it is the set of structural circumstances which immigrant groups encounter in the host country that channels them into entrepreneurship. It says that the societal context within which immigrants operate provides the opportunity structures for business development in particular niches and/or in the economy as a whole. This perspective encompasses the earlier block mobility theory which presents ethnic entrepreneurship as a survival strategy under discriminatory conditions, and the more recent politico-institutional approach that focuses on either a hostile (e.g., racial exclusion) or welcoming (e.g., immigrant business support programs) environment conducive to immigrant business development.

A third approach, often termed the interactive model, recognizes the existence of an interaction between group characteristics and opportunity structures. Its primary argument is entrepreneurship is socially embedded. It can be seen as representing a synthesis of the previous two theories.

The fourth theory is the most recent, and provides an extension to the social embeddedness approach to incorporate a politico-institutional dimension. This is the mixed embeddedness approach by which it is argued that, in addition to the role of ethnic community networks in the opening and operation of small businesses, we must also consider the impact of laws, public institutions, and regulatory practices upon ethnic entrepreneurship. Thus, this theory attempts to contextualize the interaction of micro-level cultural forces within the broader political- social and economic setting of the host society.

In the Canadian context of multiculturalism, immigrant entrepreneurs – including those from visible minorities – seem to face less discrimination and operate in a less constrained environment for opening and operating their businesses than do those in the United States. Also, contrary to the European experience, there appear to be far fewer regulatory barriers in Canada. In the case of Toronto, there is limited support for the blocked mobility thesis; the interactive model seems to better explain the entrepreneurial activities of Toronto’s immigrants (Lo et al. 2000). Institutional influences, however, do exist; these include the business immigration programs, the accreditation programs imposed on immigrants with professional qualifications, and the federal small business loan program which is managed by local financial institutions.

Conclusion

This study originated from a knowledge gap on immigrant entrepreneurship in Canada. It set out to examine the behaviour, strategies and barriers faced by immigrant entrepreneurs. We have chosen to look at five immigrant groups – Polish, Portuguese, Caribbean, Korean, and Somali – based on their immigration status, their history in Canada, and their origin and racial background. We believe this is the first Canadian study trying to understand entrepreneurship as a process in a multi-group setting. Interesting similarities and differences among our study groups were observed. In the following sub-sections, we will first highlight our key findings and raise some questions for general discussion, and then we will address some theoretical and policy issues with respect to immigrant entrepreneurship.

Discussion of Key Findings

Business structure and immigration history

We were dealing with a highly diverse groups of immigrants who have chosen the Toronto CMA as their place of settlement. While they all were first generation immigrants, important differences existed among them, aside from the obvious presence of two white groups and three being visible minorities. The Polish and the Portuguese were the oldest immigrant groups in terms of when they first arrived; the Somalis were the most recent to reach Toronto, with most arriving during the recession of the early 1990s. These immigrants were admitted under different immigration classes: most Somalis as refugees, some Polish as sponsored individuals, Portuguese and Caribbeans as either independents or family members, and many Koreans as business immigrants. Thus, it is safe to say they came with different purposes; for example, Somalis to save their lives, and others to better their lives. On arrival, they carried with them different educational attainment, with the Koreans being the most educated and the Portuguese the least. Their knowledge of the English language also varied; only the Caribbeans had English as their mother tongue.

Generally speaking, the size of the immigrant community, and the number of community institutions they have varied directly with their history or length of residence in Canada. The only exception in this case is the Caribbean group, which, while the largest in the sample, is a community of diverse origins (from various proudly distinct Caribbean islands) that has yet to develop an institutionally complete economy. As first generation immigrants, all groups had links to their country of origin. While they may have left for various reasons, the countries they left behind are currently at different stages of economic development and/or political situations, with Korea in the lead and fast tracking in the global economy, and Somalia trailing far behind as a still war-torn state.

These varying circumstances may have impacted entrepreneurial behaviours and business outcomes in different ways. We can use some of our survey results to attest to this. Let us look first at business structures. Over half of our Somali and Korean entrepreneurs, the most recent immigrant groups, were in retail trade, and another quarter in consumer services. The other groups, with longer histories in Canada and larger communities, operated more service businesses and have made inroads into manufacturing and producer services. Their businesses were, on average, older and bigger. There were more limited companies and partnerships with non-co-ethnics among them. This suggests that as a community grows and immigrants become more established, their familiarity with the Canadian business environment increases, their network of contact widens, and their businesses diversify. The progression from retail trade to consumer services to manufacturing and producer services seems typical in ethnic minority economies.

Gender imbalance in business ownership

We had wanted to explore the role of gender in the characteristics of and development of businesses, but we were prevented from doing so by the tremendous gender imbalance in the ownership of the businesses in our samples. Our study found self-employment to be a primarily male enterprise.

Generally, 70 percent of all self-employed in the general population are male despite the fact that the female population exceeds 50 percent. The under-representation of immigrant women in business may be attributed to several reasons. First, many immigrant women work in the “informal economy” at home. Within the Caribbean group, for example, many women migrated alone and they may be more independent working in their own “family” business at home. Second, many immigrants operate small businesses, such as the convenience stores owned by many Koreans. This is the type of business often considered as a “family affair,” where everybody in the family contributes to the running of the business. Finally, for some immigrant groups, to be an entrepreneur is a “man’s job.” For example, among first generation Azorean women in Canada, most stay at home or work in factories, but rarely in business.

More specifically, when we look at the Census ratios versus our sample ratios, we notice that we have an under-representation of female entrepreneurs in our study in three groups – Koreans, Portuguese, and Caribbeans – and an over-representation of female entrepreneurs in one group, the Polish. While we have no idea where the over-representation comes from, we believe that the underrepresentation may be due to cultural factors, such as who in a family-owned business will answer a questionnaire. Also, female-owned businesses are more likely to be too small to advertise in the business directories we used to create the sample. We suggest further studies are needed to specifically target immigrant women entrepreneurs to see if their experiences are different.

Use of community resources and the cultural thesis

Many businesses in our study made extensive use of ethnic resources, which generally took the following forms: family members or co-ethnics as workers; advice, information, and other help from co-ethnic friends and relatives; targeting co-ethnic customers, and advertising in ethnic media. This was irrespective of whether they served largely ethnic or non-ethnic customers, whether they belonged to an established or a recent immigrant group. Sharing the same language and culture remained the most important factor for ethnic reliance, whether such sharing was between workers and customers or between employers and employees.

If relative weighting among our five groups is required, we would say that reliance on ethnic resources was less intense with the Korean and Caribbean entrepreneurs. Caribbeans were more heterogeneous as a group and less predisposed to the formation of highly visible ethnic neighbourhoods. They were, thus, less involved in networks of kinship and friendship ties. Koreans were a different story. They had more financial capital. While they might have relied on Korean agents or friends to locate a convenience store or a dry cleaning business, their businesses generally targeted the mainstream, and they depended on family members to help out in the day-to-day operation of the business.

Generally speaking, this finding affirms the cultural thesis, but with a caveat. In its original conceptualization, the emphasis of this theory is on the family, the family as the primary ethnic resource, the family as the provider of start-up capital, the family as unpaid workers. Our survey results illustrate the relative importance of co-ethnics over families, of a network of contacts over the nucleated and/or the extended family. These changes can be attributed to the process of chain migration which has characterized much of Canada’s post- World War II immigration.

The pains and joys of entrepreneurship

Business endeavours are risky. Our entrepreneurs were embraced in a love and hate relationship with their businesses. They enjoyed the independence their businesses afforded them and the good feeling that came with job creation, customer satisfaction, and employee contentment. Nevertheless, they were generally unhappy with the hard work and the long hours associated with their business ventures. There was, however, an important difference between the Polish and Portuguese on the one hand, and the Caribbeans, Koreans, and Somalis on the other hand. The white groups found dealing with customers, personnel management, and general administration troublesome. The visible minority groups dreaded the unattractive results and an uncertain future. The Caribbeans were, in addition, very concerned with their financing and cash flow situations. It seems that skin colour matters when it comes to immigrant entrepreneurship, the beginning of a business, the process of developing and maintaining it, and the outcome of operationalizing it. We shall illustrate this further with two other points below.

Self-employment decision and labour market discrimination

Our immigrant entrepreneurs went into business for various reasons, the most important being personal/family aspirations and the lure of opportunities and future prospects, a pair of classic pull factors. These reasons are not different from those cited by non-immigrants, and are consistent with recent findings on other ethnic/immigrant groups (for example, Basu 2001). However, the theoretical literature – the block mobility thesis in particular – often emphasizes the role of self-employment as a survival strategy, especially for ethnic minorities, that is, a negative force that drives minorities into self-employment. We did not see evidence to support this argument, particularly with respect to the experiences of the members of the three visible minority groups included in this study.

Census data told us that Caribbean and Somali entrepreneurs – two visible minority groups – had the highest unemployment rates and the lowest self-employment rates. High unemployment does not seem to provide enough of an explanation for why immigrants from these two groups become self-employed, hence self-employment as a survival strategy does not seem to be applicable here. Whether this has anything to do with Canada’s well established welfare system needs to be investigated.

Meanwhile, only Korean and Caribbean entrepreneurs in our sample pointed out dissatisfaction with the paid sector as a reason for self-employment. This implicates discrimination in the general labour market as a likely push factor. This can be partially supported by the now well-known problem of Canadian non-recognition of immigrant educational credentials. However, the Somali group has the highest unemployment rate. Yet, no members of this group suggested discrimination as a reason for starting their own business. We can speculate on two explanations. First, the Somalis have only arrived recently, and so many came during the worst economic times of the early 1990s, meaning they probably had no real opportunity to get a job, and, hence, had no direct experience of feeling discriminated in the labour market. Second, it echoes earlier research that “pull” factors are often considered more important than “push” factors in the formation of business.

Clearly, the forces at play here are quite complex. The fact that these groups do not have an institutionally complete community in Toronto also may play a role in this behaviour. Our guess is that with discrimination in the wider society, institutional completeness within an ethnic community can be a resource for visible minorities who wish to engage in self-employment.

Business barriers and institutional discrimination

While we are on the topic of discrimination, we should say that except for some Caribbeans, none in our sample explicitly used the word “discrimination,” nor raised it as a barrier in the setting up of their business or as a problem in the operation of their business. However, there were several pieces of circumstantial evidence that made us suspect that institutional discrimination indeed exists and constrains minority business development.

First, the Portuguese were the least educated group and had minimal business experience before they came to Canada, and yet, unlike the other groups, many of their entrepreneurs had only a primary or secondary education. This is intriguing when we consider that over 60 percent of the Portuguese entrepreneurs in our sample had attended school in Canada. They were not the rural peasants of Portugal who mastered their trade through on the-job training in Canada and started their business. History of immigration, or history in the workforce, does not seem to be a sufficient explanation. After all, we have the Caribbeans sharing a similar immigration history with the Portuguese and their youth are as likely to drop out of school early as Portuguese young people. Why does our sample consist of very few Caribbean entrepreneurs with a secondary education or less? Some would suggest that as a white group, the Portuguese may get more favourable treatment when they apply for a business loan or rent business premises. In addition, they have an institutionally complete community with at least six of their own ethnic banks and financial institutions –Banco Espirito Santo, Banco Comercial dos Açores, Montepio Geral, SottoMayor Bank of Canada, Banco Totta & Açores, and Portuguese Canadian Credit Union. The combination of cultural understanding and network of contacts and references may be an enabling factor when they need to secure financing.

Second, all businesses face problems that may vary over time. Financing, however, was a persistent problem for our three visible minority groups, and, in fact, was getting worse as the business progresses. A quarter of the Somalis, a third of the Caribbeans, and a fifth of the Koreans, versus a tenth of the Polish and one twentieth of the Portuguese were in this predicament when they first set up their business. We suspect that if not for their business immigrant status, which required them to bring money into the country and invest in a business, the proportion would have been higher for the Koreans. At the time of the survey, the number experiencing such problems had increased, higher for the Somalis (from one-quarter to two-thirds), Caribbeans (from one-third to one-half), and Koreans (from one-fifth to one-third), and less for the Poles (from one-tenth to one-fifth). Only one Portuguese entrepreneur felt the crunch at the time of the survey, compared with two before. The difference between the white groups and the visible minority groups can be similarly interpreted in light of the discussion in the previous paragraph.

Third, while a major reason for the choice of a location for their business was to be close to the market and/or home, availability and/or affordability remained important for the Caribbeans. Koreans and Somalis also specified renting space as a barrier they faced when starting their businesses. Given that these groups faced financial constraints more often than the others, occupancy cost can be a major determinant for their businesses, effectively barring them from optimal locations. We wonder if these entrepreneurs have faced possible discrimination when looking for suitable premises, such as inflated prices or refusal to rent by landlords.

Finally, by their own accord, the Caribbean and the Somali entrepreneurs were highly involved in the life of their communities. One can attribute this to socially embedded cultural characteristics or politically influenced environmental factors. The former is less likely as these groups are not known for their social cohesiveness, though as a young and small group, there is reason for the Somalis to form a tight community. In fact, the study found that they made extensive use of ethnic resources in starting and operating their businesses. The Caribbean group, on the other hand, emerged from a community of communities that do not necessarily agree on all issues internal to them. Historical discrimination received by the Blacks, stereotyping, and unfavourable media reports of them often make them feel like outsiders. Through active participation in their community, they may be able to find power in solidarity apart from cultural comfort.

Overall, our results concur with other Canadian studies in several areas. First, some immigrant/ethnic groups are more prone to go into business and become more successful.

Second, immigrant entrepreneurs act on pull rather than push factors in starting a business.

Third, some groups are more likely to specialize in particular sectors of the economy. Fourth, immigrant businesses, in general, are small, and many are family-oriented. Regarding barriers encountered in establishing and maintaining their businesses, our results echo earlier research in the US (Butler 1991; Waldinger and Aldrich 1990; Bates 1989, 1997; Lee et al., 1997) and Europe (Boissevain et al., 1990; Ram and Deakins 1996; Deakins et al 1997). In particular, visible minority groups experience institutional discrimination more often than do white immigrant entrepreneurs.

Theoretical and Policy Issues

Integration of immigrants into the Canadian economy is important. Entrepreneurship and the construction of ethnic ownership economies are significant economic assets for Toronto and Canada as a whole. Given the ethno-racial diversity of recent immigrants to Canada, and the changing nature of Toronto’s labour market, it is likely that many aspiring entrepreneurs will not be successful. This raises important research and policy questions about integrating immigrants into the rich, yet complex, economic environment in Toronto.

Suggestions for further study

In the context of Toronto’s ethnic entrepreneurship, this study showed limited support for the blocked mobility thesis. The interactive model was the most appropriate. Evidence revealed, for different immigrant groups, different degrees of interaction between the two dimensions – group characteristics or community resources, and the opportunities and ethnic strategies adopted by the immigrant entrepreneurs. The Polish and the Portuguese found community resources to be very important. Korean and Caribbean businesses were strongly influenced by the kind of opportunities that were available to them. The Somalis were more in the middle; facing a lack of opportunities in the employed sector, they found it necessary to rely on cultural resources to cultivate their business.

With respect to institutional/structural forces, the evidence is less direct. Some Caribbean entrepreneurs openly mentioned discrimination. All visible minority groups complained about the difficulty of getting financing. This says that many of the intricacies of ethnic business – and particularly of visible minority businesses – in multicultural Canada remain unclear. Why do some groups rely more on community resources and are more prone to business ventures? And why do visible minorities face more barriers, such as difficulties in getting financing from mainstream financial institutions or problems in securing supplies? There is no simple answer to these questions. The cultural and structural forces at play are quite complex. It is important to emphasize that existing scholarship has only attempted to account for the under-representation of visible minority immigrants, without giving due attention to the issues of institutional completeness in the immigrant community and institutional discrimination in the society at large.

More comparative studies (e.g. visible versus non-visible minorities) are needed to examine how community and institutional structures affect entrepreneurship in Canada. First, with community structure, we specifically refer to the set of social, cultural, religious, business/commercial, and, perhaps, political organizations that exists to serve the well-being of a community group. The assumption is institutional completeness, tied to a group’s size and duration in Canada, enhances entrepreneurship. Of course, with this, comparative studies only make sense when the immigrant entrepreneurs under investigation arrive at more or less the same time. Second, with institutional structure, our concern is with the government’s legal and political framework and the work of financial institutions and professional regulatory bodies. Together, these organizations can promote, but are often found to hinder, minority entrepreneurship. Institutional discrimination is an especially perplexing issue in Canada, when discrimination is voiced as a major barrier for visible minority business development at the same time when the country offers a more “open”

business environment for immigrant entrepreneurs than the USA or Europe. Apart from a few studies that hinted at the negative side of financial institutions, little is known about, and little attention has been paid to, institutional barriers. We often hear different stories: visible minority entrepreneurs are crying discrimination; financial institutions are arguing on the merit of credit applications. It is not entirely clear if there is outright discrimination or simply instances of cultural insensitivity. Whether financial institutions presently act as a major institutional barrier to the entrance of minorities into entrepreneurship is a question requiring more in-depth study. Only when the links between the financial institutions, their bank gatekeepers (e.g. bank managers), and the communities within which they operate become clear can we expect to better understand the underlying forces responsible for the lack of financing that some visible minority groups face today. Through this, we may be able to identify the causes, as well as the consequences, of discrimination.

In this context, the role of ethnicity and race must be addressed in future studies of immigrant/ethnic entrepreneurship. As well, the role of gender and class, which we can barely touch in this study, deserves investigation and discussion in the literature. We suggest further empirical studies that target women entrepreneurs and, as well, immigrant groups that come with resources – human and financial. We also suggest the incorporation of race, ethnicity, class, and gender into any new theory on entrepreneurship.

Earlier, we suggested that most of the research dealing with ethnic entrepreneurship has remained exploratory, and the results have not been utilized in the theory-building process. In comparing five groups, this study, though still exploratory in nature, suggests that current theories on the ethnic economy are wholly inadequate. They look at the ethnic economy as a static phenomenon, defining existing ones as either enclave, non-enclave, or mixed in nature. As many of our immigrant groups are changing in terms of size and composition, and business diversification seems to have taken place over time, it would be interesting to explore the dynamic nature of ethnic economies from a theoretical stance. New conceptualization, therefore, should take into consideration not only conditions in the host society immigrants came to, but also those they left behind in their country of origin. A dynamic theory will offer a more comprehensive view that can include not only the role of first generation immigrants, but also that of the second and third generations. It will ultimately lead to a greater understanding of how ethnic economies are built, retained, or assimilated.

Policy implications

This and other studies have shown that self-employment is growing in Canada, and is at higher levels for immigrants than for those born in Canada. This implies that immigrant entrepreneurship and the construction of ethnic ownership economies are significant economic assets for Toronto and Canada as a whole. Due to the changing nature of Toronto’s labour market, and the diversity of recent immigrants to Canada, it is likely that many aspiring entrepreneurs or self-employed will not be successful. This raises important policy questions about economic integration. The major issue is how to accommodate the city’s new immigrants into a globalized economy which increasingly calls for innovative practices and cultural understanding.

In general, more attention should be paid to the heterogeneity of immigrants’ economic experiences and their circumstances of arrival in Canada, bearing in mind that some immigrant groups are more flexible (in terms of language skills, work experience, human capital, and so on) in adapting to the Canadian economy. In particular, this study has raised a variety of policy implications to do with encouraging immigrant entrepreneurship. All levels of government wish to see those who start businesses succeed. Below, we will focus on the barriers commonly referred to in this report, and make some suggestions on what can be done.

First, recognition of foreign educational credentials is a major issue in Canada, on which many groups and governments are working at the present time. Such recognition would remove some employment barriers for new immigrants. It would also enable many immigrants to avoid becoming self-employed in an area in which they have no interest (for example, engineers running convenience stores), would help others be self-employed in the field in which they were trained (e.g. accountant, medical doctor), and would benefit Canada with the skilled work for which many immigrants were selected.

Second, for some groups learning English is a large and long-term barrier. There are government programs in place to assist new immigrants, but often new entrepreneurs have very little time available to take advantage of these programs. A suggestion is to extend the time period during which immigrants are eligible for free language instruction.

Third, for those who start businesses, financing has been shown to be a major barrier in our study, both at start-up and during the regular running of the business. Many of the people interviewed for this study found it difficult to get access to money to support their businesses. A follow-up study of this particular issue would be very useful. We do not know, for example, whether this problem of financing is due to entrepreneurs not approaching large Canadian banks, or being turned down by them; whether their written business plans are not detailed enough, or whether they require more knowledge about writing business plans that will be acceptable to banks. Perhaps banks are particularly wary of applications from new immigrants, perhaps due to language, perceptions of the immigrant group (i.e. cultural insensitivity), due to outright discrimination, or other factors. Whatever the causes, Canada would benefit if the financial sector and entrepreneurs become partners in the creation and support of viable businesses, since this will lead to job creation and economic growth. Instead of acting as filters preventing access to capital, financial institutions must rather be mentors or partners for new immigrant businesses. We suggest they run pilot projects among those immigrants or immigrant groups whose loan applications would normally have been rejected, and see how their businesses fare.

Other problems mentioned by entrepreneurs in this study that are susceptible to policy intervention are a lack of marketing experience and a lack of business experience in Canada. Again, programs and workshops for new immigrants should be offered by nonprofit agencies and governments. We suspect that banks and other private institutions that run workshops to support new entrepreneurs would benefit, in the long term, from business loyalty from new immigrant groups. In addition, instituting a mentorship program, whereby a new immigrant entrepreneur will be guided by and hence learn from the experience of an established one, will be useful.

It is clear when searching for resources for immigrant entrepreneurs, that starting a small business, and getting financing are major problems for all entrepreneurs. There are some programs in the Toronto area to support entrepreneurs already. For example, the Ontario Ministry of Enterprise, Innovation, and Opportunity has regional offices that offer business support services; these services include business name search and registration, reference libraries, and appointments with small business advisers or consultants to review a business plan. These offices do not routinely offer services in languages other than English, and do not target any particular immigrant groups. In the Toronto CMA there are offices in Toronto, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, and Markham. The Ministry website “www.ontario-canada.com” offers a great deal of useful advice, including an online publication Starting a Small Business in Ontario.

The federal government also provides a great deal of information for entrepreneurs. At the website “bsa.cbsc.org” Canadian Business Service Centres have a “Business Start-up

Assistant” program with guides on many issues, including financing. This program even includes a section called “Search for Financing,” where entrepreneurs can fill in forms to see what sources of financing are available for different types of businesses. This website also connects to that of the Canadian Bankers Association “www.cba.ca” which provides a great deal of information on getting access to money, and provides links to the websites of all major Canadian banks.

In the non-profit sector, several organizations provide the Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP) for those who wish to become entrepreneurs, but this program is available only to those who are currently receiving Employment Insurance, or have received it in the past three years, or have received parental benefits in the past five years. Some non-profit agencies run programs to assist youth to try becoming self-employed. In the City of Toronto, we found only two agencies that provide services for entrepreneurs; these are also agencies with services for new immigrants, and provide their services in a variety of languages. The Learning Foundation has the York Business Opportunities Centre, which provides a business incubation service, including space, and offers advisory services on many issues, including financing and marketing. MicroSkills Community Development Centre (formerly Rexdale MicroSkills) runs a Women’s Enterprise and Resource Centre, for women interested in self-employment.

There is no lack of programs that target entrepreneurs. Should immigrant entrepreneurs be around long enough, they might be able to locate these programs more readily. New immigrant entrepreneurs, however, would require from these organizations more and better efforts of dissemination.

We should be able to use the results of this study to prepare more adequately for the next groups arriving in Canada. We have shown that there are predictable problems that likely will be encountered by new immigrant entrepreneurs. These problems vary between groups: new immigrants whose ethnic group already has a strong presence in Toronto may have better access to financing from within the group; immigrants who are part of a new, smaller group of immigrants without much previous history in Canada, will face more barriers. This latter group, in particular, could benefit from specific help geared to new entrepreneurs provided by public or non-profit agencies. Well thought-out programs could not only alleviate the frustrations and feelings of helplessness common among new arrivals who find their lack of Canadian experience and access to financing to be problematic, but they could also enable a smooth transition from arrival to entrepreneurial pursuit. We believe that such a planned response to immigration would more strongly connect research to policy in this field, and would indirectly contribute to the economic development of the communities that invested their time in this study.

Dissemination:

Conferences: two

Published Working Papers: forthcoming

Published Journal Articles: forthcoming

B. Education Domain

1. “Thanks for Asking Us”: A Public Legal Education Project for Immigrant Women in Domestic Violence Situations

Research team (lead researcher, partners):

Shahrzad Mojab, Adult Education, Community Development and Counselling Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Maria Rosa Maggi, Ruth Lara, and Viviana Flemming, Women’s Program,

Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples

Start date: May 1999

Date of completion: September 2000

Amount awarded from CERIS: $17,705.50

Synopsis

This qualitative study explored the legal education and information needs of Spanish speaking immigrant women in Toronto who have experienced domestic abuse and how best to address these needs. Feminist participatory research methods were used to guide data collection, analysis and action (Maguire 1987). The Women’s Program of the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples was the community partner in this research project. The staff of the Women’s Program were involved in the entire process of this study. Fourteen women were interviewed to understand their experiences, their legal education and information needs and their learning strategies. After the interviews were completed, the women, their children and the research team gathered for a three-day retreat and workshop at Hart House Farm outside of Toronto. The data collected from the interviews formed the framework for the workshop. This workshop, among other things, gave the women the opportunity to work together to design solutions to address their legal education and information needs. A number of these solutions are currently being developed and implemented by the women participants working in partnership with other community organizations.

Overview of Research Undertaken

Phase I

The goals of the first phase of the research were: 1) to identify Spanish-speaking immigrant women’s legal