Discourses of Female Entrepreneurship in the Japanese Business Press–25 Years and Little Progress

Abstract

Drawing on social constructionist theory and critical discourse analysis in media studies, this article examines the portrayal of female entrepreneurs in the Japanese business press over a 25-year period from 1990 to 2014. We find that, despite the increased variety in the representations of female entrepreneurs, traditionally gendered discourses prevail in positioning women as inferior in the entrepreneurship discourse specifically, and in the social order at large. This positioning of female entrepreneurs is achieved by stereotypical representations, drawing on traditionally gendered ‘division of labour’ and ‘women and men are different’ frames, and is masked by seemingly feminist and progressive ‘work–life balance’ and ‘entrepreneurship as self-realization’ representations. Our findings resonate with those of other research in Western contexts and confirm the male-gendered nature of entrepreneurship in Japan. The discourses uncovered appear to be hinged on evaluative assumptions about the social world and women’s position within it and are reflective of and at the same time reify Japan’s capitalist male-dominated ideology. Moreover, as these portrayals shape societal attitudes, which are assumed to affect entrepreneurship levels, this lack of progress in the media discourse is likely to negatively affect female entrepreneurship levels.