Navigating male and female norms in entrepreneurship: the challenges of Burkinabe women entrepreneurs
This study examines the ability of women entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso to sustain their business in the formal trade and services sector, as they face different forms of subordination and exclusion, the complex articulation of which has not yet been clarified (Marlow, 2019). As women, they have to negotiate the masculine norms of the formal sector. As an established businesswoman, they are at odds with survivalist female norms that have real legitimacy in the country. In this context, how do they navigate between these two gender regimes? Our interpretative approach compares what women say they do to sustain their business with how they comment on their actions. We show that they manage to make the most of both male and female entrepreneurial worlds. This navigation is possible because they work with, adhere to and distance themselves from both the masculine norms of the formal sector and the feminine survivalist norms. However, in this double game, they experience a sense of incongruity and duplicity with both communities. This can limit many of the exchanges that would allow them to make more sense of what they have undertaken to nurture a strategic vision.