How female migrants use entrepreneurship to create meaningful places of connection: A look at Ukrainian women in Poland

New research shows that female migrants are using entrepreneurship to challenge ethnic and gender discrimination. Focusing on the beauty sectors in Poland and through 10 qualitative interviews with Ukrainian female migrant entrepreneurs, this research identified patterns that impact their businesses strategies and what their business activity means to them. What it found: more than just a means to financial gains, female migrants use entrepreneurship as a relational practice that challenges social power hierarchies.

The changing landscape of migration in Poland

To understand female migrants’ entrepreneurial strategies, let’s first consider how migration patterns have changed in Poland over the time. The political transformation and subsequently the country’s entry into the European Union contributed to significant changes in migration patterns with both an outflow of Polish migrants and an increasing inflow of migrants, largely labour migrants. According to the data of the Office for Foreigners as of October 2023 citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and India were the largest communities with residence permits in Poland. Initially, immigration trends (specifically labour migration) were perceived as circular, but it has gradually shifted towards long-term or even permanent settlement in Poland. This shift has brought a diversification of economic activities, with small-scale enterprises and services on the rise within the migrant communities.

During this transition, there’s been a noticeable change in the number of female migrants. The Ukrainian community for years constituted the numerically largest migrant community in Poland. In 2021, 45% of the migrant population from Ukraine were women. The number of Ukrainians significantly increased following the full-scale Russian aggression: as of September 1, 2023, available data estimates that there were 960K Ukrainians with temporary protection in Poland, 65% were women and girls.  These female migrants are actively participating in various labour-market sectors and engaging in local social and cultural activities.

The beauty sector as a niche for business activity

The growth of migrant communities in Poland has improved social capital, accessibility to diverse networks and its resources for sole entrepreneurs. This, linked to the demand for services, creates favourable conditions for business growth. Through extended co-ethnic networks, migrants are benefiting from available resources (informational, social, material and/or financial etc.) to support their ventures and enter the general market as equal members. One noteworthy niche that has seen significant growth among Ukrainian female migrant entrepreneurs in Poland is the beauty and cosmetology sector.

Why is this sector attractive to sole entrepreneurs? The correlation of economic and social factors, positive and negative, shapes their choices, and to understand these, an intersectional lens is needed.

Read the full blog post here.