Entrepreneurship and gender: an analysis of the perceptions of women entrepreneurs on Instagram

• Grant number: 23/16153-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Aline Suelen Pires
• Grantee: Samara Olartechea Veron
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The so-called "necessity centered entrepreneurship" has expanded in Brazil in recent years because of many factors, such as the process of labor laws "flexibilization" and informality's increase. Because of this scenario, the number of women who see entrepreneurship as a path capable of guaranteeing balance between the family and productive spheres, due to the possibility of flexible working hours, is growing. Because of it, many women turn their home space into a home office setting in an attempt to enter the job marketplace and continue doing social reproduction activities. In this context, the objective of this research is to understand and analyze in which ways women entrepreneurs, in the city of São Carlos-SP, experience and attribute meanings to entrepreneurship on social networks. In that way, the research aims to contribute to studies and analysis' in the area of Sociology of Work from the perspective of gender. Methodologically, the research is mainly structured around field research with semi-structured interviews and analysis of discourses about entrepreneurship on social networks. The hypothesis to this project is that, in the experience of women entrepreneurs, the constant online and offline flow of Instagram can lead to a dissolution of boundaries between domestic and productive life, resulting in a work intensification scenario, in which these women face multiple responsibilities and challenges to ensure their survival and that of their families.