Description:
<jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-heading">Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>This paper sets out to examine the challenges facing benefit‐dependent lone mothers who seek to engage with self‐employment.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-heading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title><jats:p>A case study approach offers a detailed analysis of the experiences of three women considering the transition from benefit dependency to self‐employment.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-heading">Findings</jats:title><jats:p>The current welfare regime discourages lone mothers from entering formal self‐employment.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-heading">Research limitations/implications</jats:title><jats:p>The number of cases is limited by the nature of the study involved. Future work would seek to expand upon this.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-heading">Practical implications</jats:title><jats:p>Questions are raised regarding the efficacy of current welfare to work policies as, in this case, they would appear to impede enterprising behaviour and positively encourage informal working.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-heading">Originality/value</jats:title><jats:p>The paper engages in a novel fashion with the concepts of gender, welfare dependency and enterprise whilst developing a critique of current policy.</jats:p></jats:sec>