Research interests
Women’s entrepreneurship, Gender in business, Refugee entrepreneurs, Migrant women, fast-growth entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship education.
Afreen's research in women’s entrepreneurship and curriculum innovation has a strong empirical base and is cross disciplinary in approach with an emphasis on impact. Afreen draws on a number of disciplinary perspectives including entrepreneurship theory, feminist theory, social constructionist theory and entrepreneurship education theory.
Afreen studies how gender identity and socio-cultural factors influencing the aspiration, acceptability and feasibility of business-ownership shape women’s entrepreneurial behaviour and approach to growth. Afreen researches this phenomenon on women entrepreneurs in both developed countries as well as in culturally restrictive societies. She is also interested in exploring identity reconstruction, socialisation, and resilience of migrant and refugee women entrepreneurs.
Afreen’s research in curriculum innovation rests on evidence that learning can be significantly enhanced when the locus of the learning process is shifted from the educator to the student; the entrepreneurship curriculum is reimagined and redefined in ways that reduces the hierarchical ‘barriers’ between educators and students; and creates an inclusive and shared learning journey underpinning a human-centred, empathetic approach to realising better educational outcomes.