Beyond Microfinance: An Exploratory Thematic Analysis of Cultural Capital and Socio-Religious Influences on Women’s Entrepreneurship in Sindh

Abstract

This paper discusses how cultural capital and socio-religious norms influence the experience of female entrepreneurs, particularly those in Sindh, Pakistan, and not just through the conventional frameworks of microfinance-based empowerment. This study identifies four themes revealed through an exploratory qualitative design and a thematic analysis of the interviews of 25 women entrepreneurs: (1) the importance of informal knowledge and family-based legitimacy (cultural capital), (2) the role of religious expectations and gender roles, (3) other adaptive strategies used by women in a constraining environment, and (4) the shortcomings of microfinance to change gendered power relations. The paper uncovers that female entrepreneurship in Sindh involves significant symbolic, cultural and moral organization constraining and enabling economic life and action. It demands a culturally integrated and intersectional perspective on the development that needs to incorporate informal resources, community legitimacy, and religious framing into program articulation. The research results provide important information to policy makers, non-governmental organizations as well as scholars who are interested in fostering the process of women economic engagement in South Asia in a more inclusive and sustainable manner.

Keywords: Women’s Entrepreneurship, Cultural Capital, Religious Norms, Microfinance, Sindh, Gender Roles, Thematic Analysis, Pakistan