Experiencing liminality: At the crossroads of neoliberal and gendered experiences

Abstract

Women entrepreneurship literature has unveiled the gendered assumptions of entrepreneurship. More recently, critical woman entrepreneurship literature is increasingly focusing on the neoliberal discourses in women entrepreneurship. What remains relatively under‐explored is how women entrepreneurs experience the tensions amidst neoliberal and gendered experiences especially in the context of the Global South. Based on the narratives of middle to upper‐middle‐class women entrepreneurs in India, I find that being middle to upper‐middle‐class, women entrepreneurs shared a sense of attaining a neoliberal agency through entrepreneurship, so much so that they ignored, denied, or naturalized the gendered constraints in entrepreneurship. However, soon their accounts reflected an underlying tension as they admitted facing gendered constraints while previously denying them. I contribute to the literature of women entrepreneurship by theorizing the conflicting narratives of women entrepreneurs using the concept of liminality. In doing so, I extend the concept of liminality as an in‐between position of neoliberal and gendered experiences.

Evolving as an entrepreneur: a life story approach to studying Indian women entrepreneurs

“…Studies have found that gender roles and segregation in societies play a significant role in influencing women's career choices (Shetty et al, 2022). A recent study in India found that though becoming an entrepreneur gave middle to uppermiddle-class women neoliberal agency, their career choices were constrained by deep-seated gender norms (Doshi, 2022).…”

“…, 2022). A recent study in India found that though becoming an entrepreneur gave middle to upper-middle-class women neoliberal agency, their career choices were constrained by deep-seated gender norms (Doshi, 2022).…”