Why is self-employment not perceived by senior women as a priority? A North African experience

Purpose: This study aims to explore the reasons why self-employment is not prioritized by senior women within the Egyptian context. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected through semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of 36 senior women who engaged in entrepreneurial activities for a period following their retirement but subsequently ceased to retain access to their pensions. The data were analyzed using the Gioia methodology to systematically identify key patterns and themes emerging from the interviews. Findings: The authors revealed three main categories of barriers that discourage senior women from pursuing self-employment: personal barriers, including excess weight, impatience and aversion to social media applications; economic barriers, such as reliance on state pensions and insufficient capital to initiate business ventures; and socio-cultural barriers, encompassing traditional gender roles and shifting priorities toward religious practices. These factors collectively contribute to the widespread overlooking of self-employment opportunities among senior women in Egypt. Originality/value: The originality of this research lies in its identification of often-overlooked obstacles, namely, physical health challenges, religious commitments and entrenched gender norms, that significantly impede entrepreneurial intentions among women over the age of 60 in Egypt. By highlighting the stark divergence between the entrepreneurial reluctance of Egyptian senior women and the increasing self-employment trends observed among older populations in Western societies, this paper offers a culturally nuanced reevaluation of senior women’s entrepreneurship within the North African context.