Race, class, gender and social entrepreneurship: extending the positionality of icons

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to add information on how women's voices enriched American social entrepreneurship in the Progressive era. While most discussions of women as social entrepreneurs have centered on white middle class women, this article profiles two female agents for change and innovation who came out of the white working class and Boston's Black elite, respectively. These additions provide an analysis of female participation that takes account of issues of intersectionality and positionality, important concepts in contemporary critical theory. Design/methodology/approach This article extends our understanding of women's role as social entrepreneurs in the early twentieth century by offering biographies of Rose Schneiderman and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin based on extensive examination of sources from Progressive era documents to contemporary scholarly analyses. Inclusion of Progressive era sources enables the narrative to suggest how these social entrepreneurs were viewed in their own day. Findings Biographies of Rose Schneiderman and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin indicate the broad range of women who developed new organizations to serve traditionally marginalized populations in the Progressive era. The article shows the types of obstacles each woman faced; it enumerates strategies they used to further their aims as well as recording some of the times they could not surmount class- or race-based obstacles placed in their paths. Originality/value At a time when issues of intersectionality and positionality have become more prominent in management discourse, this article expands the class and race backgrounds of women specifically proposed as icons of social entrepreneurship. It represents an early attempt to link these concepts with the study of entrepreneurship.

Exploring the role of narrative in social enterprise and social innovation

“…, 2022) or experiences of being and strategies for thriving or surviving as a social entrepreneur in India (Padhy and Bhaskar, 2021), the Philippines (Caringal-Go and Canoy, 2019), China (Hsu, 2017), during the Covid-19 pandemic (Borzaga and Tallarini, 2021), as a single elderly woman (Meliou et al. , 2019) or women of colour (Schachter, 2022).…”

“…The majority of articles in this theme are of a descriptive nature and use forms of narrative analysis to explore opportunity identification for and pathways into social entrepreneurship (Chandra and Shang, 2017;Itelvino et al, 2018;Asarkaya and Keles Taysir, 2019;Alvarez de Mon et al, 2021;Liu and Liang, 2021;Stirzaker et al, 2021;Vial and Richomme-Huet, 2021), motivations for becoming and continuing to be a social entrepreneur (Mody et al, 2016;Yitshaki and Kropp, 2016;Kropp et al, 2017;Milczarczyk, 2019;Sadílek et al, 2022) or experiences of being and strategies for thriving or surviving as a social entrepreneur in India (Padhy and Bhaskar, 2021), the Philippines (Caringal-Go and Canoy, 2019), China (Hsu, 2017), during the Covid-19 pandemic (Borzaga and Tallarini, 2021), as a single elderly woman (Meliou et al, 2019) or women of colour (Schachter, 2022).…”

A two-decade history of women’s entrepreneurship research trajectories in developing economies context: perspectives from India

“…In general, patriarchal countries like India’s inherent pattern makes it impossible for women to seek any role other than a housewife (Deshpande and Sharma, 2013; Goyal and Parkash, 2011). They encounter negative social norms, time crunch, finances, skills, market inaccessibility and a lack of business networks (Sales et al , 2019; Schachter, 2022). Women face more problems in comparison to men when they get to access bank loans and other forms of finance, as well as knowledge, training, know-how and government help (Della‐Giusta and Phillips, 2006; Roomi and Parrott, 2008).…”

Exploring the intersection of sustainable consumption and the Metaverse: A review of current literature and future research directions

“…However, the Metaverse offers alternatives to enhance social interactions and inclusivity. It provides a space where people can overcome barriers like distance and racial segregation, play, socialize, and explore together [ 9 , 36 ]. Virtual worlds might even become centers for corporate training and recruitment [ 37 ], though challenges such as ethical concerns, privacy issues, and accessibility barriers must be tackled [ 33 , 38 , 39 ].…”