Women, Entrepreneurship and Institutional Change: Japan, Canada and Beyond

This Research Forum was organized by Dr. Aegean Leung, Visiting Research Associate, Japan Program for the Fall of 2009.

Overview:

With its general focus on the pursuit of new opportunities to create economic values, entrepreneurship has been perceived as a rather masculine activity. In Japan, and to a lesser extent Canada, women entrepreneurs are still by far the minority, and are considered a marginal group in terms of economic impact. The objective of this forum was to bring to light how institutional changes shape the development of women's entrepreneurship in Japan and Canada, and, at the same time, how women entrepreneurs are instigating changes at the community and societal level despite various constraints.

This forum was organized under the auspices of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, with sponsorship from the Centre for Co-operative and Community-Based Economy and the Faculty of Business at UVic.

Program:

8:30 to 8:50 am  Welcome and Introduction

Session One: Overview

8:50 to 9:30 am

Female Entrepreneurship and Institutional Change in Japan
Dr Philippe Debroux, Professor, Faculty of Business, Soka University, Japan

9:30 to 10:10 am     

Female Enterprise, Institutional Change, and the New Economy: A Canadian Perspective
Dr Karen Hughes, Professor and Associate Chair, Graduate Program, Department of Sociology; Professor, Faculty of Business, University of Alberta, Canada

Session Two: Japan - A Closer Look

10:30 to 11:10 am

Structures of Entrepreneurship Among Japanese Women: Temporal Changes and Continuities
Dr Christienne Hinz, Associate Professor, Department of History, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, USA

11:10 to 11:50 am

Work-life Balance and Women Entrepreneurship in Japan
Dr Tim Craig, Professor, Doshisha University, Japan and Dr Aegean Leung, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Visiting Research Associate, Japan Program, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria, Canada

11:50 am to 12:30 pm

The Revolution of Middle-Class Housewives: The Study of the Seikatsu Club as a Social Enterprise in Japan
Dr Aegean Leung, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Visiting Research Associate, Japan Program, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria, Canada and Dr Ana Maria Peredo, Director, Centre for Co-operative and Community-Based Economy, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business, University of Victoria, Canada

Session Three: Canada - A Closer Look

1:45 to 2:25 pm

Taking Control of our Economic Future: The Co-operative Economy
Ms Nicole Chaland, Program Director, Certificate for Community Economic Development, Simon Fraser University, Canada

2:25 to 3:05 pm

Women Entrepreneurs and Small-Scale Agriculture in Canada
Dr Martha McMahon, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria, and Ms Robin Tunnicliffe, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria, Canada

3:05 to 3:45 pm

Challenges and Opportunities for Female Entrepreneurs in First Nations Communities
Dr Judith F. Sayers, Hupacasath First Nation, Port Alberni, British Columbia; Executive-in-Residence, Faculty of Business and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Canada

3:45 to 4:00 pm   Closing Remarks

4:10 to 5:00 pm

Roundtable Discussion on the Forum Theme and Potential Research Collaboration