TY - JOUR

T1 - Woman's entrepreneurship as a gendered niche

T2 - the implications for regional economic development policy

AU - Harrison, Richard

AU - Leitch, Claire

AU - McAdam, Maura

N1 - This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Economic Geography following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Richard T Harrison, Claire M Leitch, Maura McAdam, Woman’s entrepreneurship as a gendered niche: the implications for regional development policy, Journal of Economic Geography 2020 20 (4): 1041–1067 is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/joeg/article-abstract/20/4/1041/5709129

PY - 2020/7/1

Y1 - 2020/7/1

N2 - In this paper we argue that entrepreneurship is a socio-spatial embedded activity and that the social construction of gender, time, space, economy and culture is manifest in the masculinities that are ascribed a normative role in entrepreneurship development policies. Drawing on feminist approaches to articulate and perform resistance to the hegemonic ‘masculinist’ discourses on entrepreneurship, we argue that women’s entrepreneurship is contextually embedded in institutional and social structures that both limit and provide opportunities for its enactment. Regional economic development policy has focused, inter alia, on stimulating and supporting women’s entrepreneurship through the establishment of women-only entrepreneurial networks to provide support, role models and access to resources. Grounded in feminist geography and based on a detailed qualitative study of network managers and members of formally established women-only networks, we provide evidence of the disconnect between the emancipatory intent and the actual impact of these initiatives. While these networks aim to empower and encourage women into entrepreneurship, in practice they perpetuate women’s marginalisation and ghettoization in gendered niches.

AB - In this paper we argue that entrepreneurship is a socio-spatial embedded activity and that the social construction of gender, time, space, economy and culture is manifest in the masculinities that are ascribed a normative role in entrepreneurship development policies. Drawing on feminist approaches to articulate and perform resistance to the hegemonic ‘masculinist’ discourses on entrepreneurship, we argue that women’s entrepreneurship is contextually embedded in institutional and social structures that both limit and provide opportunities for its enactment. Regional economic development policy has focused, inter alia, on stimulating and supporting women’s entrepreneurship through the establishment of women-only entrepreneurial networks to provide support, role models and access to resources. Grounded in feminist geography and based on a detailed qualitative study of network managers and members of formally established women-only networks, we provide evidence of the disconnect between the emancipatory intent and the actual impact of these initiatives. While these networks aim to empower and encourage women into entrepreneurship, in practice they perpetuate women’s marginalisation and ghettoization in gendered niches.

KW - women’s entrepreneurship

KW - niche theory

KW - gendered niches

KW - women-only networks

KW - regional entrepreneurship policy

KW - feminist geography

U2 - 10.1093/jeg/lbz035

DO - 10.1093/jeg/lbz035

M3 - Journal article

VL - 20

SP - 1041

EP - 1067

JO - Journal of Economic Geography

JF - Journal of Economic Geography

SN - 1468-2702

IS - 4

ER -