IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v17y2024i9p418-d1482535.html

Human Trafficking and Gender Inequality: How Businesses Can Lower Risks and Costs

Author

Listed:
  • Donald L. Ariail

    (Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA)

  • Katherine Taken Smith

    (College of Business, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA)

  • Lawrence Murphy Smith

    (College of Business, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA)

Abstract

Human trafficking continues to be a profitable multi-billion dollar business. People are either callous toward human rights or they are unaware of the crime occurring. Many businesses may unknowingly facilitate human trafficking by providing services, such as transportation, hotels, or haircuts, or purchasing products from unfamiliar sources that secretly use forced labor. To be socially responsible, a business must establish effective enterprise governance policies that help prevent and detect trafficking. A business can incur legal fines, damage to its reputation, incur lost business, and be subject to litigation, all as a result of human trafficking. Worldwide, estimates are that 50 million people are being trafficked. Human trafficking is especially harmful to females, both adult women and girls, who comprise about 70 percent of all trafficking victims. Gender theory helps explain this disproportionate impact on women. This study provides an overview of human trafficking, an empirical analysis of the relationship of gender inequality to trafficking, and specific steps that a business can take to help prevent this crime, protect its reputation, and avoid fines and lost business.

Suggested Citation

  • Donald L. Ariail & Katherine Taken Smith & Lawrence Murphy Smith, 2024. "Human Trafficking and Gender Inequality: How Businesses Can Lower Risks and Costs," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:17:y:2024:i:9:p:418-:d:1482535
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/17/9/418/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/17/9/418/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Janice Byrne & Salma Fattoum & Maria Cristina Diaz Garcia, 2019. "Role Models and Women Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial Superwoman Has Her Say," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 154-184, January.
    2. Todd Broker & David Durr & Lawrence Murphy Smith, 2019. "Analysis of the global energy industry, climate change and financial matters: the need for effective corporate governance," International Journal of Corporate Governance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(3/4), pages 185-208.
    3. Smith, Katherine Taken & Betts, Teresa, 2015. "Your company may unwittingly be conducting business with human traffickers: How can you prevent this?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 225-234.
    4. Hannah Michelle Russell & Donald L. Ariail & Katherine Taken Smith & Lawrence Murphy Smith, 2023. "Religiosity and Risk: Association of Judeo-Christian Ethicality with a Sustainable Business Environment," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Stefan Linnhoff & Hannah M. Martin & Katherine Taken Smith & L. Murphy Smith, 2014. "A descriptive analysis of ethics codes, CSR and efforts to combat human trafficking," International Journal of Corporate Governance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(3/4), pages 156-177.
    6. Kristen K. Shanine & Kimberly A. Eddleston & James G. Combs, 2019. "Same Boundary Management Preference, Different Outcome: Toward a Gendered Perspective of Boundary Theory Among Entrepreneurs," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 185-205, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. David Kerr & Katherine Taken Smith & Lawrence Murphy Smith & Tian Xu, 2025. "A Review of AI and Its Impact on Management Accounting and Society," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-22, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Russell, Hannah Michelle & Ariail, Donald L. & Smith, Katherine Taken & Smith, L. Murphy, 2020. "Analysis of compassion in accounting and business students, overall and by gender," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    2. Diana Machado & Aldina Correia & Alexandra Braga & Aidin Salamzadeh & Vítor Braga, 2025. "Business Innovation and Internationalisation in Female-Owned Businesses: A Fuzzy-set QCA Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(5), pages 16725-16753, November.
    3. Sameen Khan & Sarika Tomar, 2026. "Veils and ventures: examining Muslim women’s entrepreneurial intentions in higher education," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Elina Meliou & Mustafa Ozbilgin, 2024. "How is the Illusio of Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship Sustained? A Bourdieusian Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 1536-1561, June.
    5. Miruna Radu-Lefebvre & Vincent Lefebvre & Eliana Crosina & Ulla Hytti, 2021. "Entrepreneurial Identity: A Review and Research Agenda," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(6), pages 1550-1590, November.
    6. Bojan Moric Milovanovic, 2023. "The Role Of Education In Increasing Market And New Product Development Performance In The Context Of Female Entrepreneurship: The Case Of Croatia," Economic Thought and Practice, Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik, vol. 32(2), pages 391-408, december.
    7. Kris G. Lobo & Dynah A. Basuil & Maria Corinna D. Escartin & Christine Marie D. Faustino & Rose Ann Camille C. Caliso, 2025. "Mapping the Pain Points in the Motherhood Sphere: A Focus on Women Entrepreneurs in the Philippines," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 14(3), pages 348-366, May.
    8. David Kerr & Katherine Taken Smith & Lawrence Murphy Smith & Tian Xu, 2025. "A Review of AI and Its Impact on Management Accounting and Society," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-22, June.
    9. Wee Chan Au & Siân Stephens, 2023. "I Am Not Just a Nurse: The Need for a Boundaried Ethic of Care in the Context of Prolific Relationality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 493-510, September.
    10. Sanae Hobad & Laila Hobad & Abderrazzak Kabbouri, 2023. "Female entrepreneurship and social media in Morocco [L'entrepreneuriat féminin et les médias sociaux au Maroc]," Post-Print hal-03973512, HAL.
    11. Dirk De Clercq & Eugene Kaciak & Narongsak (Tek) Thongpapanl, 2023. "Full circle support: unpacking the relationship between women entrepreneurs’ family-to-work support and work interference with family," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 343-367, March.
    12. Radka MacGregor Pelikánová & Robert Kenyon MacGregor & Martin Èernek, 2021. "New trends in codes of ethics: Czech business ethics preferences by the dawn of COVID-19," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(4), pages 973-1009, December.
    13. Adam P. Balcerzak & Radka MacGregor Pelikánová, 2020. "Projection of SDGs in Codes of Ethics—Case Study about Lost in Translation," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, November.
    14. Hannah Michelle Russell & Donald L. Ariail & Katherine Taken Smith & Lawrence Murphy Smith, 2023. "Religiosity and Risk: Association of Judeo-Christian Ethicality with a Sustainable Business Environment," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-19, September.
    15. Maldonado-Bautista, Ileana & Sanchez-Ruiz, Paul & Parhankangas, Annaleena & Watkins, Karen, 2025. "Echoes of the past: The long-lasting effects of entrepreneurs' generational imprints on value-creation models," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1).
    16. Masoud Karami & Yousef Mohammad Karimi & Mohsen Akbari & Juergen Gnoth, 2024. "Rural women entrepreneurship: when femininity compensates for institutional hurdles," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(5), pages 738-766, November.
    17. Siamak Seyfi & Albert Nsom Kimbu & Masoomeh Tavangar & Tan Vo-Thanh & Mustafeed Zaman, 2025. "Surviving Crisis: Building Tourism Entrepreneurial Resilience as a Woman in a Sanctions-Ravaged Destination," Post-Print hal-04846581, HAL.
    18. Ikenna Franklin EZE & Thobekani LOSE, 2023. "Consequences Of Failure And Challenges Of Small Business In South Africa: A Theoretical Review," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(3), pages 18-32, September.
    19. Paige Clayton, 2024. "Different outcomes for different founders? Local organizational sponsorship and entrepreneurial finance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 23-62, January.
    20. Yaron Zelekha, 2024. "The effect of spouses on the entrepreneurial gender gap," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 2481-2514, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:17:y:2024:i:9:p:418-:d:1482535. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.