1.     “I MEAN BUSINESS”: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH MIGRATION AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN THE U.S.
Magali N. Alloatti Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (in cooperation with UCLA)   Karin A. C. Johnson Department of Sociology, University of California, Riverside

2. We ask how can we understand processes of empowerment and dis-empowerment in the case of immigrant women who are self-employed in the Brazilian entertainment business in Los Angeles?
. Revisit the literature on ethnic entrepreneurship, migration and self- employment: problematize the small number on this topic.
. Systematize a theoretical framework on empowerment and disempowerment in immigrant women, identifying key elements: simultaneity of the processes; agency, changes and continuities in regards of the social context.
Question some main aspects of the literature
Ethnic resources have been ‘hiding’ women’s participation (‘silent contribution’- gendered division of labor – extension of domestic tasks – tradition and values – utilizing social class resources through ethnic resources ).
Two trends in the literature: a) women in entrepreneurship and self-employment: ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factor – male-oriented criteria for assessing women’s success and productivity; b) immigrant women in self-employment: intersectionality – stereotypes and expectations – specificity of some niches (cultural commodification) – transnational component.

3. Theoretical framework
Empowerment and disempowerment through self-employment connected to international migration:
Process that result from migratory experiences characterized by personal aspirations, stereotypes, different adversities.
Mechanisms women use to re- signifiy their social position and employment through a moral reconstruction of professionalism and feelings of autonomy and self-esteem.
Continuities and mechanisms that reinforce gender roles changes and reconfigurations of these roles in the public sphere and private spaces
Empowerment and disempowerment: a) can be simultaneous b) process and a result
Importance of these women’s quotidian life and working routine: strategies, mechanisms, stereotypes and intersectionality.

4. Experiences, obstacles and leverages
A gendered division of work
Male dominated world
Income
Clear division of activities shaped by the demand reinforced by the idea that women have special skills to deal with some activities.
The overrepresentation of women in some activities (samba dancers) strengthens the image of ‘the Brazilian woman’ which is racialized and attached to a body type and aesthetic.
The expression of women who occupy positions ‘of power’ who feel constantly challenged and burdened with gendered expectations (family)
Stereotypes are related to sexuality, sensuality and behavior, explained by intersection of gender and nationality.
They are evaluated with a male-oriented criteria.
Income related to family arrangements, other jobs and careers.
Amount of time and definition of the income related to taking care of the children and the house.
Difficulties in utilizing class resources
Differences with the men’s narratives and experiences
n = 23

5. Politics of the body: motherhood and neutralization of stigmas.
Motherhood is a complex experience.
Positive aspects are related to personal aspirations and possibility of balancing time between work and family
Negative aspects are experienced differently according to the job. Singularity of the samba dancers and the embodied capital.
Neutralization of stigmas:
Rules that go beyond the world of work
Specific ways of dancing, rehearsals, ‘watching’ their weight and manipulating their body
Rejection of the economic need
Presence and support of the husband

6. Discussion and final thoughts.
Three vectors of empowerment:
Re-signification of activities: national identity, cultural commodification, rejection of economic need, comparison with home country. Connected to downward social mobility and difficulties faced in the first time in the U.S.
Neutralization of stigmas: tightly related to politics of the body. Difference with stereotypes which are negotiated and turned into ethnic resources.
Profissionalism: ethnical position, conveys the artistic criteria and the result of a long and successful trajectory. It is related to a learning process, autonomy conducting business (being managers and English proficiency) and a respectable artistic identity
Importance of daily life and the social construction of the public sphere and private spaces
Women’s agency
In terms of trajectory: a result Politics of the body and male dominated world: process

7. Thank you for your time! Magali N. Alloatti: magalialloatti@gmail.com