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Women&entrepreneurs&and&wellbeing:&An&identity&perspective&
Andreana Drencheva
a.drencheva@sheffield.ac.uk
University of Sheffield
United Kingdom
Recognizing the importance of women entrepreneurs for economies and societies, researchers
and policy makers are increasingly interested in supporting women’s entrepreneurship activities.
Enhancing the wellbeing of women entrepreneurs is essential not only as an ethical imperative
but also as a mechanism to understand and improve the process and outcomes of women’s
entrepreneurship activities. This chapter employs an identity lens to offer a novel perspective on
women entrepreneurs’ wellbeing in a way that is reflective of their nuanced and subjective
experiences across multiple local and national contexts. The chapter presents the findings of a
literature review on women entrepreneurs’ identities and wellbeing to explicate the
multidimensional relationship between women entrepreneurs’ identities and their sustainable
eudaimonic and temporal hedonic wellbeing. It maps out the multiple identities salient to women
entrepreneurs and considers three main themes: 1) entrepreneurship as an authentic expression of
a positive identity, thus contributing to women entrepreneurs’ eudaimonic wellbeing; 2) women
entrepreneurs’ multiple conflicting and synergetic identities influencing hedonic and eudaimonic
wellbeing; and 3) identity work as an active approach to enhance hedonic and eudaimonic
wellbeing. The chapter concludes with a consideration of what the findings mean for researchers,
women entrepreneurs, and for actors in entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Keywords
Female entrepreneurship, gender, identity, identity work, wellbeing, women entrepreneurs
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This is an author accepted version of the book chapter.
Citation:
Drencheva, A. (2019). Female entrepreneurs and wellbeing: An identity perspective. In M.-T.
Lepeley, K. Kuschel, N. Beutell, N. Pouw, & E. Eijdenberg (Eds.), Wellbeing of Women in
Entrepreneurship: A Global Perspective. Routledge.
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INTRODUCTION&
The role of women entrepreneurs1 is related to multiple positive outcomes for
individuals, families, communities, and economies across the globe (Brush & Cooper, 2012).
Therefore, exploring the experiences of women entrepreneurs and the factors that shape these
experiences and individual and organizational outcomes have added theoretical and practical
relevance. One important factor in understanding why, how, and with what individual and
collective outcomes women engage in entrepreneurship across the globe is wellbeing (Stephan,
2018). For example, wellbeing influences entrepreneurs’ motivation, decision-making, and
persistence across the entrepreneurial journey (Stephan, 2018).
Wellbeing is broadly defined as a state “in which every individual realizes his or her own
potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is
able to make a contribution to her or his community” (WHO, 2014). Research differentiates
between two general perspectives of wellbeing: hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing (Ryan &
Deci, 2001; Waterman, 1993). Hedonic wellbeing is conceptualized in terms of temporal
happiness as attaining pleasure and satisfaction and avoiding pain. Eudaimonic wellbeing is
broadly conceptualized in terms of sustainable actualization of own human potential in ways true
to one self. Thus, eudaimonic wellbeing reflects self-realization, authenticity, vitality, and human
flourishing (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Waterman, 1993) in a sustainable and long-term fashion instead
of as a temporary state. Indeed, reaching one’s potential in terms of flourishing and authenticity
can be a painful or unpleasant experience as it requires learning, resilience, and effort.
Identity is central to human, and thus to women entrepreneurs’, wellbeing. Identity
broadly refers to the collection of subjective attributes, meanings, experiences and knowledge
1 While “female entrepreneur” is often used in the academic literature, I adopt the label “woman entrepreneur” in
line with a human centered approach.
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individuals attach to themselves as they act as entrepreneurs or think of themselves as
entrepreneurs across their daily experiences (adapted from Ramarajan, 2014). Thus, identity is a
cognitive schema serving as a framework to understand oneself as a unique individual, a member
of a social group, or an actor with a specific role.
Women entrepreneurs, as all individuals, have multiple identities. For example, women
entrepreneurs have salient work-related identities that encompass meanings they develop about
themselves based on the groups they participate in as well as the roles and activities of starting
and leading new ventures in specific industries or sectors. However, they also have non-work
identities, such as those related to religion and ethnicity, that are meaningful for their
entrepreneurship experiences and interact with their work identities. Thus, women entrepreneurs’
multiple identities shape their wellbeing in different ways. On the one hand, remaining true to
ourselves as unique individuals with multiple identities enhances wellbeing (Goldman & Kernis,
2002; Thoits, 1983). On the other hand, women entrepreneurs’ multiple identities related to
gender, motherhood, professions, and entrepreneurship create tensions, stress, and contradictions
(e.g., Essers & Benschop, 2007). Such tensions and contradictions act as negative experiences
and stressors hindering wellbeing because they force women entrepreneurs to act in ways
inconsistent with their authentic selves.
While the identities of women entrepreneurs matter for wellbeing, the field lacks a
consistent and nuanced understanding of the relationship between women entrepreneurs’
identities and their wellbeing. To a large extent this is because research on the identity of women
entrepreneurs and gender identity of entrepreneurs is dispersed. For instance, relevant research
about different identity perspectives appears in journals in entrepreneurship (e.g., Marlow &
McAdam, 2015), gender studies (e.g., Orser, Elliott, & Leck, 2011), and human relations (e.g.,
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Bisel, Kramer, & Banas, 2017). While identity as inter-individual differences alone can hardly
explain women entrepreneurs’ wellbeing entirely, a systematic and nuanced exploration of the
relationship between identity and wellbeing can provide an important perspective on the factors
associated with wellbeing at a personal level. An identity perspective provides new insights into
how women entrepreneurs sustain their wellbeing through identity work and recognizes the
diversity of identities that might be salient to women entrepreneurs across the globe related to,
for instance, ethnicity or religion.
The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize emerging research that provides insights into
the relationship between women entrepreneurs’ identities and their temporal hedonic and
sustainable eudaimonic wellbeing. This review takes stock of research on the topic to promote an
evidence-based discussion about what we know and what need to learn about the wellbeing of
women entrepreneurs from an identity perspective to map fruitful areas for future research and to
improve wellbeing among women entrepreneurs. This review offers a refined account of the
multidimensional relationship between the multiple identities of women entrepreneurs and their
wellbeing.
Next I present the review methodology, which identified 33 empirical sources broadly
related to female entrepreneurs’ identities and wellbeing. I synthesize and integrate insights
related to eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing to present what is currently known about the
relationship between identity and wellbeing amongst women entrepreneurs. I conclude with a
discussion of the findings in relation to future research and practice.
METHODOLOGY
I conducted a literature search using Web of Science covering empirical studies published
in journals up to August 2017 in English, including the following databases: Science Citation
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Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) – 1900 – present, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) –
1956 – present, Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) – 1975 – present, and Emerging
Sources Citation Index (ESCI) – 2015 – present.
For the purpose of this review, I adopted a broad definition of women entrepreneurs as
individuals who self-identify as women; start, lead, and manage new organizations; and assume
the multiple interpersonal, reputational, or financial risks involved in this process. To reflect this
approach, I searched for four groups of keywords in the title, abstract and/or keywords of
articles. These groups of keywords were related to gender (e.g., gender, female*, feminin*,
masculin*, wom*n), entrepreneurship (e.g., entrepreneur*, founder*, self-employ*,
owner*manager, “small business owner”), identity (e.g., identit*, identif*”, “self*schema”,
“self*view*”, “self*concept*”), and wellbeing (e.g., well*being, authentic*, tension*, stress*,
contradict*, happiness). These four groups of keywords were combined with an “and” Boolean
logic. I complemented this search using Google Scholar as a robustness check and scanned the
references of included articles to identify additional relevant sources not indexed by Web of
Science. This search retrieved 945 abstracts, amongst which I identified a set of 33 empirical
sources that the review is based on because they met the following inclusion criteria:
1) focused on women entrepreneurs or gender identity of entrepreneurs (recognizing gender and
biological sex as different constructs and gender identity as fluid and non-binary);
2) focused on entrepreneurs’ identities; and
3) explored links between identity and wellbeing.
The included studies illustrate the experiences of women entrepreneurs across diverse
national contexts (e.g. United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States of America, New Zealand,
India, Turkey, France, Portugal, Spain) in relation to identity and wellbeing. All studies were
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published after 1997 with the majority of studies (73%) published after 2010 demonstrating the
increasing research interest in both identity and wellbeing. Majority of the studies were
qualitative (82%) using mostly cross-sectional or narrative data.
The studies reviewed rarely and explicitly focused on the relationship between women
entrepreneurs’ identities and wellbeing. However, applying hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing
as an organizing framework revealed that the relationship between women entrepreneurs’
identities and wellbeing is multidimensional. I present these insights below clustered in three
main themes:
1) entrepreneurship as an authentic expression of positive identity, thus contributing to women
entrepreneurs’ eudaimonic wellbeing;
2) women entrepreneurs’ multiple conflicting and synergetic identities as influencing hedonic
and eudaimonic wellbeing;
3) identity work for hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing.
Before introducing these three themes on the multidimensional relationship between
identity and wellbeing, I map out the multiple identities that emerged as salient to women
entrepreneurs across the studies reviewed to embed the findings in female entrepreneurs’ own
self-views.
FINDINGS
Women&Entrepreneurs’&Salient&Identities&
The reviewed studies reiterate that women entrepreneurs have multiple work-related
identities salient in their entrepreneurship experiences. Women entrepreneurs’ work-related
identities include identification with the role of entrepreneur, business owner, business creator,
and self-employed person (e.g., Cohen & Musson, 2000; Cruz, Hardy, & Sanders, 2017;
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Duberley & Carrigan, 2013; Essers, Doorewaard, & Benschop, 2013; García & Welter, 2011;
Gherardi, 2015; Hytti et al., 2017; Lewis, 2015; Loscocco, 1997; Marlow & Mcadam, 2015;
Orser et al., 2011; Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014; Warren, 2004). However, these identities broadly
related to the role of the entrepreneur are not salient to all women entrepreneurs, are fluidly
salient depending on context, and may be rejected by some women entrepreneurs depending on
their context and conflict with other salient identities (e.g., Chasserio, Pailot, & Poroli, 2014;
Nadin, 2011; Nordqvist & Aygören, 2015; Strier, 2010; Warren, 2004).
Other work-related identities salient to women entrepreneurs include businessperson (e.g.,
Essers & Benschop, 2007; Essers, Benschop, & Doorewaard, 2010; Fernandes & Mota-Ribeiro,
2017), professional (e.g., Lewis, 2013; Lewis et al., 2016), leader (Lewis, 2015; Sims, Gong, &
Hughes, 2017), boss, and colleague (Nadin, 2011). Finally, women entrepreneurs also hold
salient identities related to their specific occupations and craft (Chasserio et al., 2014; Gherardi,
2015). Some of these identities are related to personally valued attributes, such as being
professional in one’s activities, while others are related to specific occupations where individuals
are labeled as belonging to a professional class, such as accountants or consultants.
The reviewed studies confirm that women entrepreneurs also have multiple non-work
identities that are salient in their entrepreneurship experiences. The most frequently explored
non-work identities are broadly related to the intertwined internalized norms, expectations,
behaviors, roles, and attributes associated with gender and family. The research on the topic
examines the degree of identification of women entrepreneurs with certain personal attitudes,
values, self-concepts, social behaviors, and career choices that are consistent with socially
constructed gender stereotypes of femininity and masculinity (e.g., Dy, Marlow, & Martin, 2017;
Eddleston & Powell, 2008; Essers & Benschop, 2007; Essers et al., 2010, 2013; Fernandes &
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Mota-Ribeiro, 2017; García & Welter, 2011; Goktan & Gupta, 2015; Lewis, 2013; Marlow &
McAdam, 2015; Orser et al., 2011; Perez-Quintana, Hormiga, Martori, & Madariaga, 2017; Sims
et al., 2017; Warren, 2004). For example, identification with masculinity is related to
entrepreneurial intentions (Gupta, Turban, Wasti, & Sikdar, 2009) and identification with
masculinity or femininity is associated with different indicators of entrepreneurial career success,
such as status or contributing to society (Eddleston & Powell, 2008). While gender identity is
frequently explored in relation to the experiences of women entrepreneurs, this identity is fluidly
salient to women entrepreneurs depending on their context and interactions with others (García
& Welter, 2011; Lewis, 2015; Nordqvist & Aygören, 2015). Indeed gender identity represents a
more nuanced internalization of subjective attributes beyond the binary of masculinity and
femininity whereby women entrepreneurs’ identities may not clearly align with societal
expectations of masculinity and femininity (Orser et al., 2011; Perez-Quintana et al., 2017).
Intertwined with women entrepreneurs’ gender identities, are family-related (Gherardi,
2015) gendered identities. These include (responsible, good) wife or partner (e.g., Chasserio et
al., 2014; Essers et al., 2010, 2013; Gherardi, 2015; Nordqvist & Aygören, 2015; Warren, 2004),
(caring, good) mother (figure) (e.g., Bisel et al., 2017; Chasserio et al., 2014; Duberley &
Carrigan, 2013; Ekinsmyth, 2014; Essers & Benschop, 2007; Essers et al., 2013; Hytti et al.,
2017; Lewis et al., 2016; Loscocco, 1997; Nadin, 2011; Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014; Warren,
2004), daughter (in the context of family businesses) (e.g., Fernandes & Mota-Ribeiro, 2017;
Gherardi, 2015; Hytti et al., 2017), and provider (e.g., Loscocco, 1997). These gendered family-
related identities are associated with stereotypes of female roles and femininity in the home
domain that may be actively rejected or stigmatized by some women entrepreneurs (Duberley &
Carrigan, 2013; Loscocco, 1997) depending on their context.
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Additionally, women entrepreneurs have salient identities related to personal
characteristics and membership in specific communities and social groups. These identities
include internalization of subjective aspects related to ethnicity, race, citizenship, religion (e.g.,
Addo, 2017; Chasserio et al., 2014; Dy et al., 2017; Essers & Benschop, 2007; Essers et al.,
2010, 2013; Strier, 2010) and age (Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014) as personal characteristics. They
also include community identification (Greenberg & Mollick, 2016) and relational identities,
such as parent and friend (Nadin, 2007), that are salient to women entrepreneurs.
While women entrepreneurs have multiple work and non-work identities that are salient
during their entrepreneurship journeys, they also create hybrid identities. A hybrid identity is a
cognitive scheme that represents a superordinate identity that combines elements from other
identities. Thus, hybrid identities represent identities associated with women entrepreneurs’ life
domains (e.g. work and home) or with their different roles (e.g. entrepreneur and leader). The
research suggests that the following hybrid identities are salient to some women entrepreneurs:
independent working mother (Lewis et al., 2016; Strier, 2010), good working woman, immigrant
woman entrepreneur (Nordqvist & Aygören, 2015), businesswoman (Ekinsmyth, 2014), family
business leader (Hytti et al., 2017), family-minded professional (Warren, 2004), and
entrepreneurial scientist (Szelényi, Bresonis, & Mars, 2016).
Authenticity&and&Wellbeing&
The studies reviewed suggest that entrepreneurship activities can enhance the eudaimonic
wellbeing of women entrepreneurs by enabling authenticity and positive sense of self.
Authenticity refers to individuals’ unobstructed operation of their true self in their daily
activities; to conduct their work and life according to their deeply held values (Goldman &
Kernis, 2002), thus it is directly related to eudaimonic wellbeing (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Several
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of the reviewed studies suggest that women entrepreneurs engage in entrepreneurship to express
their identities in authentic and meaningful ways. Women entrepreneurs start new ventures as a
means of self-expression of their identities related to creativity, craft, and occupation (Duberley
& Carrigan, 2013; Gherardi, 2015). They start new ventures to express their identities as
community members who want to address justice and community needs, while also belonging to
their communities (Addo, 2017). Women entrepreneurs also start new ventures to express their
gendered identities as good and caring mothers and responsible wives and daughters (Bisel et al.,
2017; Duberley & Carrigan, 2013; Gherardi, 2015; Lewis et al., 2016; Loscocco, 1997;
Nordqvist & Aygören, 2015; Strier, 2010). For example, women start new ventures to challenge
established norms and practices that are damaging to their children (Bisel et al., 2017), to spend
more time with their children (Loscocco, 1997), or to support and follow their life partners
(Nordqvist & Aygören, 2015). Regardless of which identities are salient and expressed through
entrepreneurship activities, entrepreneurship offers one pathway for women entrepreneurs’
authenticity, self-expression, and flourishing, thus enhancing eudaimonic wellbeing.
The extant literature suggests that entrepreneurship activities enable women
entrepreneurs’ eudaimonic wellbeing by helping them to develop, sustain, and express positive
and valued identities that counter stigmatized, marginalized, devalued, and undesired identities
and labels related to professions, age, and gender. Some of the reviewed studies demonstrate that
certain professions, such as being a dancer, age, and gender position women as vulnerable,
objectified, delegitimized, and stigmatized (Cruz et al., 2017; Duberley & Carrigan, 2013; Strier,
2010; Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014). In some cases, they are denied positive work identities in
traditional labor markets or ascribed undesired gender labels (e.g. “I am not just a housewife!”,
Duberley & Carrigan, 2013). Entrepreneurship activities and a developing entrepreneur identity
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thus enable women entrepreneurs to see themselves as professionals, as craftspeople, as
proactive and self-reliant agents with autonomy and self-control as opposed to powerless,
victimized, and stigmatized objects devalued by labor markets (Cruz et al., 2017; Strier, 2010;
Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014).
Entrepreneurship activities also serve as a source of meaning and to provide a platform
for flourishing after retirement (Loscocco, 1997). They enable women entrepreneurs to cope with
the loneliness and isolation of unemployed or retired life (Strier, 2010). Thus, entrepreneurship
activities and identities enable women entrepreneurs to maintain their eudaimonic wellbeing
through self-realization and vitality despite stigma and imposed undesired labels across life
stages and particularly in the later stages of life.
While entrepreneurship activities can enhance women entrepreneurs’ eudiamonic
wellbeing through authentic expression of positive identities, the research also suggests some
negative aspects of a salient entrepreneur identity for health and wellbeing. A salient
entrepreneur identity that is associated with a strong identification with the venture may hinder
appropriate coping mechanisms and adequate attention to health during instances of ill-health or
medical conditions (e.g., pregnancy and birth). In such situations, women entrepreneurs may face
the difficult decision to suspend venture activities for a period of time, which is stressful and
hinders hedonic wellbeing, or to continue working which can have a tangible negative impact on
their health (Gherardi, 2015) in relation to burnout and lack of appropriate medical attention.
Conflicting&and&Synergetic&Identities&
Women entrepreneurs’ multiple identities can be conflicting or synergetic and the
relationships between multiple identities influence both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing.
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Women entrepreneurs experience identity conflicts and tensions that hinder their
eudaimonic wellbeing. Women entrepreneurs have multiple identities that represent internalized
norms, expectations, and behaviors that suggest different actions and motivation across roles and
domains. Expressing one identity may contradict expression of another. Thus, women
entrepreneurs’ multiple identities may be conflicting as they suggest incompatible actions and
behaviors. For example, the entrepreneur identity is often described in masculine, youthful, and
agentic terms that are in opposition with the actions guided by women entrepreneurs’ other
identities related to gender, family, ethnicity, religion, occupation, and age (e.g., Chasserio et al.,
2014; Ekinsmyth, 2014; Essers et al., 2010; 2013; Orser et al., 2011; Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014;
Warren, 2004). Entrepreneurship ecosystems, including incubators, accelerators, and digital
spaces, are also characterized by masculine norms instead of being gender neutral (Dy et al.,
2017; Marlow & Mcadam, 2015). Thus, entrepreneurship ecosystems also provide identity-
sharpening feedback to women entrepreneurs that makes some identities more salient than others
or challenges women entrepreneurs’ identities and legitimacy in entrepreneurship spaces, which
affects their access to resources (Greenberg & Mollick, 2016).
In cases of incongruence between multiple identities or between salient identities and
gendered entrepreneurhip ecosystems, women entrepreneurs experience tensions, dissonance,
and strain because they strive to express one identity and meet its identity-based expectations,
which limits their opportunities to express a conflicting identity and meet its identity-based
expectations. As women entrepreneurs’ work identities are validated by others at work and at
home (e.g., life partners), they may also face interpersonal conflict at home that is stressful
(Ekinsmyth, 2014; Strier, 2010) and potentially resulting in closing of the venture or breakdown
of the relationship (Gherardi, 2015). Such tensions and contradictions are stressors that are
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unpleasant and painful experiences that influence negative affect and lower life satisfaction.
Thus, conflicting identities and identity tensions hinder women entrepreneurs’ hedonic
wellbeing.
Women entrepreneurs’ conflicting identities can also hinder their eudaimonic wellbeing.
Their multiple work identities may not be recognized, thus introducing loneliness and exclusion
into the experiences of women entrepreneurs (Hytti et al., 2017), challenging their legitimacy as
entrepreneurs (Marlow & McAdam, 2015), and limiting access to resources (Greenberg &
Mollick, 2016). These experiences are not only stressful and unpleasant, but they also limit
women entrepreneurs’ authenticity (Sims et al., 2017), self-realization, and flourishing as
elements of eudaimonic wellbeing. These experiences force women entrepreneurs to act in ways
inconsistent with their salient identities and even to conceal their ethnic, gender, or entrepreneur
identities to gain entrepreneurial legitimacy, social credibility, access to resources and markets,
and to maintain interpersonal relationships with limited conflict (Dy et al., 2017; Marlow &
McAdam, 2015; Szelényi et al., 2016). In such circumstances women entrepreneurs are forced to
act in inauthentic ways to flourish and achieve personally valued goals for self-realization.
Beyond hindering eudaimonic wellbeing through lack of authenticity, these experiences may also
result in women entrepreneurs taking on additional projects without support leading to overwork
and burnout (Szelényi et al., 2016).
While women entrepreneurs’ multiple identities can be in conflict with one another,
multiple identities may also create synergies, thus enhancing eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing.
Women entrepreneurs’ multiple identities are synergetic when the expression of one or more
identities enhances and supports the expression of another identity and meeting its identity-based
expectations. Identities are synergetic because they are congruent, complementary, and
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overlapping as they share internalized meanings. Thus, expressing these identities together is less
challenging than expressing conflicting identities. For example, an entrepreneur identity can
support, accommodate, and enable the expression of non-entrepreneur identities, such expressing
professional identities while raising young children (e.g., Chasserio et al., 2014; Duberley &
Carrigan, 2013; Ekinsmyth, 2014; Loscocco, 1997; Strier, 2010). Non-entrepreneur identities,
such as identities related to religion, ethnicity, gender, and family, can also support,
accommodate, and enable the expression of entrepreneur identity. Such identities can reveal
opportunities for new offerings or provide access to social capital essential for enacting an
entrepreneur identity (e.g., Essers & Benschop, 2007). These synergies between multiple
identities enable women entrepreneurs to act in authentic ways across multiple domains of their
lives (e.g. home and work), thus enhancing their eudaimonic wellbeing. These synergies also
create opportunities for flourishing and self-realization as elements of eudaimonic wellbeing. As
synergetic identities enable women entrepreneurs to enact multiple identities at the same time
with lower strain, dissonance, and tensions, they can also enhance hedonic wellbeing.
Identity&Work&and&Wellbeing&
The reviewed studies suggest that the relationship between women entrepreneurs’
identities and their wellbeing is not static. Indeed, women entrepreneurs are creative and
proactive agents who actively shape this relationship through identity work that reduces identity
tensions and contradictions, thus enhancing their hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Identity
work is defined as women entrepreneurs’ reflexive efforts to create coherent sense of self that is
accepted as legitimate within the various environments they encounter in response to multiple
(and potentially conflicting) scripts, roles, and subjects in both work and non-work domains
(Kuhn, 2006). Women entrepreneurs struggle to authentically express their identities related to
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ethnicity, gender, and age because these identities are less visible, mainstream, and even
stigmatized in entrepreneurship ecosystems as well as carry different internalized norms, scripts,
and meanings in comparison to the entrepreneur or business owner identities (Essers et al., 2010;
2013; García & Welter, 2011; Tomlinson & Colgan, 2014; Warren, 2004). This is why women
entrepreneurs enact various strategies to maintain, strengthen or revise identities in relation to
other identities and in relation to claims, demands, and power structures imposed on them by
others, such as family members, peers, and stakeholders.
The extant research suggests that identity work exists on a continuum and women
entrepreneurs enact multiple strategies along the continuum with different audiences. These
strategies build on creative management of meanings, processes, and boundaries to reproduce,
manage, and transform identities and social norms (Ekinsmyth, 2013; Lewis et al., 2016; Marlow
& McAdam, 2015). At one end of the identity work continuum are strategies of internalization of
conventional norms and social expectations related to specific identities, such as gender, family,
age, ethnicity (also labelled compliance). At the other end of the identity work continuum are
strategies of rejecting, challenging, and transforming social norms associated with certain roles
or communities through opposition (e.g., Chessario et al., 2014; Essers et al., 2010; García &
Welter, 2011). However, beyond full internalization or transformation of norms associated with
specific identities, women entrepreneurs can conform to or challenge norms to a degree. For
example, they can engage in selective identification with or resistance of norms to suit their
situation, distancing from specific norms and communities, and selective borrowing and
projection of norms even when they are not internalized (e.g., Essers et al., 2010; Fernandes &
Mota-Ribeiro, 2017; Lewis, 2013; Warren, 2004). They can segregate identities across space,
time, and audiences and marginalize non-entrepreneur identities in the entrepreneurship context,
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thus continuously sliding between identities and adapting to micro-contexts (also labelled
separation or compartmentalization) (e.g., Essers et al., 2010; Nadin, 2007). Finally, to challenge
social norms, women entrepreneurs integrate existing identities to incorporate meanings and
underpinning cultural frameworks in new ways, thus creating hybrid identities (Essers et al.,
2010; Warren, 2004) and engaging in social creativity to expand the meaning of roles and norms
(e.g., Essers & Benschop, 2007; Fernandes & Mota-Ribeiro, 2017).
Identity work enables women entrepreneurs to enhance their hedonic and eudaimonic
wellbeing. As women entrepreneurs engage in identity work to cope with conflicting identities,
the various identity work strategies enable them to lessen tensions, dissonance, and strain, thus
enhancing hedonic wellbeing. Identity work also enables women entrepreneurs to express their
salient identities in meaningful ways across domains, thus enhancing authenticity. Indeed,
identity tensions, contradictions, and conflicts are not just threats to hedonic wellbeing to be
addressed, but they also represent opportunities for growth and transformation of the self through
identity work. Thus, identity work enhances eudaimonic wellbeing by facilitating authenticity,
growth, and self-realization.
DISCUSSION&
This chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the multidimensional relationship
between women entrepreneurs’ identities and wellbeing. It maps out the multiple identities that
are salient to women entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial journeys and discusses how they
enhance or limit hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. In doing so, this chapter has two main
implications for research on female entrepreneurship and wellbeing.
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Theoretical&Implications&&
This chapter presents a novel global perspective on the multiple, intersecting,
conflicting, and synergetic identities that impact the wellbeing of women entrepreneurs. While
previous research has explored how women entrepreneurs enhance the wellbeing of others
(Brush & Cooper, 2012) or the gender differences in entrepreneurs’ wellbeing (Stephan, 2018),
this chapter offers identity as a lens that recognizes the subjective experiences of women
entrepreneurs influencing their wellbeing beyond comparisons of national factors. It maps out
the multiple work-related and non-work identities salient to women entrepreneurs, including less
binary gender identities and identities related to craft, profession, and community. It considers
how these multiple identities initiate and shape the entrepreneurial journeys of women to enable
and constrain authenticity, self-realization, and transformation, while also introducing new
stressors to women’s lives. An identity perspective on women entrepreneurs’ wellbeing
highlights the heterogeneity of women entrepreneurs’ experiences across the globe based on their
self-views. However, it also builds a platform for comparative research on women entrepreneurs’
wellbeing internationally based on shared common identities related to religion, ethnicity,
profession, and craft and the conflicting and synergetic relationships between these identities in
specific cultural contexts.
This chapter also offers a nuanced view of women entrepreneurs’ wellbeing and the
multiple pathways through which identity influences wellbeing. Surprisingly, the relationship
between women entrepreneurs’ identity and their wellbeing is not explicitly addressed in the
extant research. Building on the emerging research on women entrepreneurs’ identities (e.g. Dy
et al., 2017; Fernandes & Mota-Ribeiro, 2017; Sims et al., 2017) and the extant research on
wellbeing (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Waterman, 1993), the chapter differentiates between temporary
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hedonic and sustainable eudaimonic wellbeing and uses these two perspectives as an organizing
framework to explicate the multidimensional relationship between women entrepreneurs’
identities and wellbeing. This differentiation suggests that women entrepreneurs’ identities
influence wellbeing in three distinct ways. First, identities can influence the pleasure, pain, and
life satisfaction that women entrepreneurs experience (i.e. hedonic wellbeing). Second, identities
can influence how women entrepreneurs approach and achieve authenticity, self-realization, and
personal transformation across domains (i.e. eudaimonic wellbeing). Third, the relationship
between women entrepreneurs’ identities and wellbeing is not static and women entrepreneurs
are active agents in shaping their hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing through identity work.
Directions&for&Future&Research&
The synthesis of the literature on women entrepreneurs’ identities in relation to wellbeing
offers at least two main avenues for future research.
First, future research can rigorously and explicitly capture the multidimensional
relationship between women entrepreneurs’ identities and hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing.
While this relationship is suggested by the reviewed studies, it has not been tested empirically.
Recognizing that women entrepreneurs engage in identity work (e.g., Essers et al., 2013; García
& Welter, 2011) and that their identities are fluid and contextually salient (Nordqvist & Aygören,
2015; Orser et al., 2011), future research can employ longitudinal designs to explore how
changes in identities influence hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Such identity changes and
identity work are influenced by entrepreneurship ecosystems and women entrepreneurs’ personal
networks, including family members (e.g. Ekinsmyth, 2014; Marlow & McAdam, 2015;
Szelényi et al., 2016; Warren, 2004), who provide identity sharpening feedback. Thus,
longitudinal studies can include a more socially and culturally contextualized approach to
20
examining the relationship between women entrepreneurs’ identities and different types of
wellbeing to deepen comparative insights.
Second, future research can embrace a greater diversity of identities studied and
methodologies to capture the identities salient to women entrepreneurs and examine their
relationships with other phenomena. The majority of the extant research uses qualitative
methodologies to explore how women entrepreneurs’ cope with tensions between gender and
entrepreneur roles (e.g., Fernandes & Mota-Ribeiro, 2017; Warren, 2004), often ascribing
identities based on demographic characteristics instead of capturing women entrepreneurs’ self-
views. However, women entrepreneurs have many salient identities, beyond those of gender and
entrepreneur, such as those related leadership, specific occupations, and crafts (Chasserio et al.,
2014; Gherardi, 2015; Lewis, 2015; Strier, 2010), that are often overlooked, yet important for
women entrepreneurs’ experiences and wellbeing. Additionally, a more nuanced perspective on
gender identity specifies at least four gender identities, including masculine, feminine,
androgynous, and undifferentiated gender identities, (Goktan & Gupta, 2015; Perez-Quintana et
al., 2017), beyond the traditional binary of masculinity and femininity that dominates the current
research. This diversity of gender identities is in line with emerging cultural trends that
demonstrate increasing popularity of and social acceptance for diverse non-binary genders. Thus,
given that identity is conceptualized as women entrepreneurs’ self-views, it is important for these
multiple self-views to be captured and explicitly studied in relation to wellbeing as well as to
other phenomena, such as performance, through qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional and
longitudinal designs.
21
Conclusions&&
The findings of this review offer women entrepreneurs a reflective tool. The chapter
demonstrates that identity-related experiences, such as authenticity and identity conflict, are an
important factor that shapes women entrepreneurs’ wellbeing. This synthesis of existing
empirical research offers a framework for women entrepreneurs to consider how to remain
authentic and what authenticity means to them across domains, while also limiting strain, stress,
and burnout as multidimensional human beings. The chapter recognizes the importance of
external influences, such as established discourses, norms, power structures, and expectations,
that provide identity-sharpening feedback. However, it also portrays women entrepreneurs as
active and creative agents who can navigate these norms through various strategies to maintain,
strengthen, enact or revise identities in relation to other identities and in relation to claims,
demands, and power relations imposed on them by others, such as family members, peers, and
stakeholders. The chapter presents these strategies on a continuum and encourages women
entrepreneurs to find and adapt the strategies that work for them based on their context and the
individuals they engage with.
The findings of this review also highlight the need for individuals around women
entrepreneurs, such as those in their social networks or actors in entrepreneurship ecosystems, to
create more inclusive environments that consider women entrepreneurs as multidimensional
human beings and legitimate entrepreneurial actors. Those around women entrepreneurs matter
for the wellbeing of women entrepreneurs as they provide identity-sharpening feedback through
interactions, lack of interactions, expectations, and enactment of norms that can either strengthen
women entrepreneurs’ self-views or create stress, tensions, and contradictions related to their
identities. Such identity-sharpening feedback replicates existing power structures, devalues
22
certain identities, and limits women entrepreneurs’ authentic expression of their salient identities.
However, women entrepreneurs’ non-entrepreneur and non-work identities are valuable sources
of entrepreneurial opportunities that can be socially and economically beneficial. Additionally,
the chapter suggests that women may find authenticity, meaning, and a positive sense of self
through entrepreneurship activities after retirement or when they are stigmatized socially or
devalued in traditional labor markets. Thus, creating inclusive environments for women
entrepreneurs is not only beneficial for societies and economies, but also an ethical imperative
toward social inclusion and better ageing.
Creating inclusive environments that enable women entrepreneurs to fully participate in
entrepreneurship ecosystems and in daily life as multidimensional human beings is not just an
individual action. Instead, it requires collective efforts to change existing power structures and
social norms. Individuals around women entrepreneurs can take action by creating and enacting
practices and norms that recognize and value women entrepreneurs’ multiple identities. They can
provide resources and support that enable women entrepreneurs to express and navigate their
multiple identities with different goals and priorities. Finally, they can also work to change and
limit practices, norms, discourses, and expectations that limit women entrepreneurs’ expressions
of their multiple identities due to interpersonal, reputational, and financial risks to enact currently
marginalized, devalued, and invisible identities in authentic ways.
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