Entrepreneurship and the Gay Minority

Abstract

This paper provides a review and rationale concerning the importance of researching entrepreneurship amongst those of minority sexual orientation. Based on emerging theories about, and evidence of, entrepreneurship as a heterogeneous phenomenon, the paper explores the potential contribution that studies of minority entrepreneurship can make to the understanding of diversity, as opposed to universality, amongst entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. In the absence of research on gay entrepreneurship specifically, especially in the UK, the author explores reasons for the silence amongst researchers, including some of the main challenges, namely: variable degrees of minority-status disclosure; a corresponding lack of data about the size of the minority; definition issues; and the potential avoidance of the minority by ‘objective’ scholars. A summary of reasons why entrepreneurship might be an attractive prospect for gay people is provided. The paper also argues that research amongst gay entrepreneurs may prove to be valuable in terms of its potential to contribute to economic advantage both for the minority and for the greater society, and ultimately to increase understanding within the entrepreneurship discipline generally.