Little lady or CEO? Which identity strategies do young female entrepreneurs use in male-dominated industries?
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2021-09-02
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en
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Often in theory regarding female entrepreneurship, the female entrepreneurs are treated as one homogeneous group. This research studies young female entrepreneurs who operate in male-dominated sectors, to get a closer look at their experiences, identity and entrepreneurial processes. Ten interviews with young female entrepreneurs are discursively analysed, and five themes are found to answer the question of which identity strategies are used by the young female entrepreneurs to be successful in male-dominated sectors. Young female entrepreneurs emphasize their uniqueness in the sector to gather goodwill and acquire social capital. Also, they use multiple identities to make sense of complex situations. Furthermore, they are very conscious about their use of language. Moreover, the young female entrepreneurs show assertive behaviour when they have to deal with (negative) assumptions. And finally, they emphasize the benefits of their young age and relative inexperience and use it to their advantage. This study contributes to the stream of research in female entrepreneurship that emphasizes heterogeneity in that particular group. It also contributes to the ongoing discussion about the role of age in entrepreneurship.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen