Enterprising Women in Rural, Regional and Remote Australasia

Abstract Research into the non-farm and small enterprise activities of women in rural, regional and remote areas of Australasia is virtually non-existent. Accordingly, this paper reports on the findings of interviews with 75 women small business operators in rural, regional and remote areas of Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales and a small section of provincial New Zealand who were mainly running non-farm businesses. The research was an outcome of a national study of women in small to medium sized enterprises (Still & Walker, 20023), and had the objective of ascertaining similarities and differences between the characteristics of women and their businesses in outback Australasia and the already established profiles of women and their businesses in urban locations. All participants responded to a questionnaire and an interview, the structure of which followed the contents of the national survey. Data was collected between March 2003 and October 2004. The results revealed similarities between the characteristics of the operator and her business in both urban and rural and remote regions in terms of both size and the service nature of the business. Differences arose from many of the regional women using the business as a strategic vehicle for diversification of income sources, their focus on local and regional services and their interest in exporting. The significance of these women to their local and regional communities was also more easily discernible than in urban areas, with many taking a leading role in a diverse range of activities – a finding also found by Houghton and Strong (2004). The study needs further research into a wider range of the women’s activities in their communities and the opportunities and difficulties they face in being enterprising women in the outback.