Unveiling belonging: women entrepreneurs’ belonging strategies to navigate the embedding process

Abstract

Purpose – Opportunity-driven women entrepreneurs encounter gendered challenges in leveraging social networks essential for business development. This research builds on Stead (2017), exploring how women navigate these challenges and foster belonging within these networks. Utilising a post-structural feminist lens, we aim to understand the strategies employed by women entrepreneurs to maintain embeddedness in social networks. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the complex interplay between gender, belonging strategies and embeddedness in entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – This study draws on in-depth interviews (31) with opportunity-driven women entrepreneurs. Thematic analyses were conducted to capture the women’s understandings of belonging and embedding in social networks in the context of the Netherlands and Ireland. Findings – The findings indicate that many women entrepreneurs successfully acquire essential resources within a masculine social networking context. They employ strategies that both align with and challenge traditional gender norms. A performed strategy, belonging by commonalities, enables women to enhance their connections, navigate gendered challenges and secure access to resources. Additionally, gendered network consciousness helps women to identify existing connections and determine whom to network with for valuable resources. Conscious networking strategies include mechanisms such as mutual support and allyship, enabling women to proactively seek connections and overcome gendered challenges in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Originality/value – Overall, this study provides implications for supporting and promoting women entrepreneurs by enhancing understanding of the gendered process of embedding. This study offers insights into how women entrepreneurs can leverage their agency, ultimately contributing to entrepreneurial success.