Ep 35 Why Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Explore Entrepreneurship ft Kylie Hwang Kellogg Business

The Human Challenge

With over 2.11 million people incarcerated as of 2018, almost 600,000 people per year reenter society from incarceration with little re-integration support, leading to over 66% of formerly incarcerated people rearrested within three years of reentry.

Kylie Hwang saw this firsthand while working at a background check company, and noticed that most solutions focused on supporting formerly incarcerated individuals with employment, but ignored those who turned to entrepreneurship due to labour market discrimination. Intrigued, Kylie pursued her Doctoral Studies.

Now, an Assistant Professor at Kellogg School of Business, she recently co-published "Entrepreneurship as a Response to Labor Market Discrimination for Formerly Incarcerated People" in the American Journal of Sociology and documented a few outcomes:

1. Formerly incarcerated individuals, particularly formerly incarcerated Black individuals, are more likely to become entrepreneurs compared to similar individuals who have never been incarcerated because of diminished employment opportunities.
2. Entrepreneurship for formerly incarcerated individuals reducing the income gap and recidivism ("re-offending") rates.
3. Entrepreneurship is an alternative way for formerly incarcerated lowers the likelihood of returning to prison, due to lack of employment opportunities.
4. Black individuals who have been incarcerated face the highest employment barriers due to discrimination, and as a result seek entrepreneurship.
5. Formerly incarcerated Black individuals reap the greatest advantages from entrepreneurship.

Kylie's research offers a look at how entrepreneurship can be a great option given labour market discrimination limiting formerly incarcerated individuals, and most importantly, how impact investors, researchers, and policymakers can help.

Tune into this episode of The Human Challenge, an Amazon Music x ACAST "Indie Podcast Amplifier 2023" to learn more about Kylie's journey, the implications, and how we can support -- and what she is looking at next!

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Be welcome to learn more about Kylie Hwang at https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/directory/hwang_kylie.aspx

Watch this full episode on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@vanessaferlaino/featured

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