Title: Working ladies: Mennonite women in the enterprises of Spanish Lookout, Belize

Authors: Carel Roessingh, Linda Mol

Addresses: Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Culture, Organization and Management, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, Room Z-240, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ' Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Culture, Organization and Management, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, Room Z-240, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract: This article addresses the role of women in the labour system of the Mennonite entrepreneurs in a community in Belize, Central America. The labour system of the Mennonite enterprises is mainly organised independently of the general Belizean labour system. Mennonite women have gained a pivotal position in this independent system over the past years. Traditionally, Mennonite women stay at home to work in the domestic sphere. In recent years, however, their role has changed and they have increasingly started to work outside of the home. This has had major implications for the position of women in the community. In this article a description of the position of women in the Mennonite labour system will be provided using literature on the Mennonite women, combined with empirical data from the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout, Belize.

Keywords: Belize; Mennonites; community; enterprises; labour; ethnicity; ethnic minorities; ethnic entrepreneurship; women entrepreneurs; female entrepreneurs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2008.017302

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2008 Vol.5 No.3/4, pp.241 - 256

Published online: 24 Feb 2008 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article