Women entrepreneurs and intersectionality: Building inclusive and resilient entrepreneurial ecosystems in times of multiple crisis

• Applicant: Dr. Susann Schäfer
• Subject Area: Human Geography
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524118901

The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems - defined as set of interconnected entrepreneurial actors, organizations, institutions and processes which formally and informally coalesce to connect, mediate and govern entrepreneurial activities in a region - has been popularized as an approach both in academia and politics to understand entrepreneurial recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current research shows that crisis such as economic lock-downs has had different effects on entrepreneurs and that inequalities and even discrimination in such ecosystems have been reinforced through ongoing crisis. To understand the differences and commonalities of entrepreneurial recovery in relation to the entrepreneurial environment, this research project seeks to analyze individual responses and systematic conditions from an intersectional perspective – taking not only gender into account but additional characteristics of entrepreneurs such as age, ethnicity, family status, migration experience, and socioeconomic status. Focusing on a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem in Germany, Munich, the research project applies a qualitative design composed of interviews and focus groups to reveal entrepreneurial solutions to economic crisis and biases in entrepeneurial support structure. With this outline, we seek to conceptually advance the debates on entrepreneurial ecosystems in economic geography in terms of power and privilege in entrepreneurial support frameworks. With regard to policy transfer, we aim to provide basic knowledge on how entrepreneurial ecosystem policy can become more inclusive and equal with regard to resources and support.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Dr. Heike Mayer