How starting a business helped these migrant women gain their economic independence

Research shows women in Australia from migrant backgrounds are more likely to be underemployed, underpaid or overqualified for their jobs. SBS News spoke to two entrepreneurial women who, by starting their own businesses, are gaining economic independence.

Source: SBS

Body of original source is:

Hawanatu Bangura thinks being made redundant from her job as a social worker last year was a blessing in disguise.

 She says it was the push she needed to start her own business.

Ms Bangura, who is establishing herself as a filmmaker, came to Australia as a teenager when her family fled war in Sierra Leone.

 But according to research by Settlement Services International, diverse representation of women in the workplace is rare.

Women in Australia of migrant background have, at 47 per cent, significantly lower rates of workforce participation compared to the general female population, which has a rate of 59.2 per cent.

 

Another new small business owner, Iranian migrant Zhila Hasanloo, says she's also faced challenges.

Ms Hasanloo, who lives with impaired vision, says no one knew about her disability in Iran -- not even her parents.

With the help of Settlement Services International program IgniteAbility, which helps migrants living with disability become self-employed, Ms Hasanloo started her own business called 'Ability Beyond Borders'.