NC West Virginia News

Self-employment and entrepreneurship rates among women and Black people lag behind those of white males, particularly in rural areas. Supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, West Virginia University researchers are investigating the reasons for this disparity.

The research, led by Heather Stephens, professor of resource economics and management and director of the Regional Research Institute, seeks to identify factors that could support entrepreneurship for women and minorities as well as barriers preventing them from starting businesses. This project is a collaboration with Daniel Eades, a WVU Extension specialist in rural economics.

The findings will help local and regional economic development professionals establish policies and programs to aid these groups. For the initial phase of the study, Stephens, postdoctoral fellow Xiaoyin Li, and a team of RRI PhD students collected and analyzed county-level data.

Eades stated that research findings would be translated into fact sheets and training materials for local policymakers and practitioners working within rural entrepreneurial development ecosystems. These materials will also reach educators in Extension, business incubators, regional economic development agencies, financial service providers, and chambers of commerce.

“We’ll engage with these folks not just as end users but as experts in their own right,” he said. “They will help us better understand the findings and revise curriculum and outreach materials so they are easy to understand and can serve as useful tools to help affect change in local economic development policy.”

Evidence suggests small employers are more likely to buy locally and reinvest earnings back into the economy. Self-employment decisions for women and minority groups may differ from those of white men; for example, self-employment might offer women workforce entry while maintaining flexibility with home or family obligations.

“There’s been some research that suggests women entrepreneurs or self-employed women aren’t as successful as their male counterparts,” Stephens said. “So maybe we need to measure success by different metrics. Maybe things like flexibility and child care availability would be part of their success."

“Previous research has really not looked closely at rural self-employment, especially for women or minorities. Thus, rural communities don’t yet know how they might help women or minorities start their businesses or what factors might be more important.”

One challenge may be that residents in areas with historically large employers may lack an ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’

“This is important because if people could use whatever skills they have to start a business that fills a gap in their community," she added. "It could provide income for their family, increase tax revenues, leading to economic growth in a rural place."

According to Eades, traditional economic development has often been seen as a zero-sum game where communities benefit by being the cheapest place to do business at the expense of others.

“In our view," he said. "Entrepreneurship and local business development can change that narrative." He emphasized leveraging existing community skills and assets while reframing challenges as opportunities for change rather than competition over limited resources.