Gender discourses of women entrepreneurs by opportunity. The Spanish case

Abstract

This article presents the results of research on women entrepreneurs in Spain. The focus of the analysis is on women’s discourse on gender. More specifically, the article studies the relationship between discourses on family compatibility and on the release of "domestic / reproductive responsibilities " between entrepreneurs by opportunity. The qualitative sample is formed by women (and mothers) autonomous professionals / entrepreneurs from the services sector, where 40 in-depth interviews and 11 focus groups were conducted. Based on the analysis of discourses, a typology of entrepreneurial opportunity resulted, according to the arguments related to the "productive" and "reproductive" work. The study shows  the existence of a "masculinized" social imaginary among woman entrepreneurs, which enables two logics of behaviour: those that give priority to working life, on the one hand, and those seeking to reconcile work and family life.