Striving for balance: women entrepreneurs in Brazil, their multiple gendered roles and Covid-19

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how women entrepreneurs in Brazil are managing their businesses and gendered role expectations at home in the context of Covid-19. Using the lenses of business-family interface theoretical construct, the paper seeks to explain how women are navigating the business and family commitments in the pandemic context.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts the interpretivist approach using Gioia methodology and 13 individual semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that women implement numerous strategies including reliance on social relationships within the family, and externally, to manage the home-business expectations. The findings also reveal entrepreneurial resilience and adaptability in the face of a crisis that marks how women entrepreneurs navigate challenges in their entrepreneurial journeys.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the gender and entrepreneurship literature by giving greater visibility to women entrepreneurs in developing society in the context of the pandemic. This paper also demonstrates how negotiating gender roles can empower women entrepreneurs to challenge gendered norms.