Performance of Women in Small Scale Enterprises (SSEs): Marital Status and Family Characteristics

Abstract

This study discusses the family characteristics and marital status of women entrepreneurs and suggests policy options to improve performance of women operated SSES in Kenya. It also examines the family responsibilities of the women entrepreneurs to determine if there is a correlation between the family responsibilities and the performance of women owners and or managers of SSEs. It makes an immense contribution to the literature by evaluating the direction and significance of the relationship of family characteristics and responsibilities of women in SSEs to performance of their enterprises. This study used correlation matrix and regression analysis to determine the direction of relationship and significance of the two factors to performance of the SSEs . The results of the analysis show that family characteristics and responsibilities independently have no significant relationship to performance. Marital status of the women owners and managers of SSEs in Kenya are not significant to performance.

Keywords: Performance, women, small scale businesses, family characteristics, family responsibilities, marital status, “Mom and Pop” businesses.