How Media Representations Influence Women Entrepreneurs’ Identity: Evidence from the Tanzanian Press

Beldina Owalla ()
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Beldina Owalla: Oxford Brookes University, Oxford Brookes Business School

Chapter Chapter 10 in Structural Transformation and Economic Development in Africa, 2026, pp 205-229 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to analyze how media representations and discourses of women entrepreneurs in the Tanzanian press influence societal perception of women’s entrepreneurial identities. We carry out a thematic and discourse analysis of a sample of 203 online articles printed in the Tanzanian media and make the following contributions. First, this chapter contributes to our understanding of the media’s role in influencing societal perception of women’s entrepreneurship and legitimacy in a developing country context. Second, it emphasizes the fact that the positive impact media has on societal perception of women’s entrepreneurship, is often offset by the continuous linking of women entrepreneurs’ identities to stereotypical gendered roles. Third, it highlights how discourses on empowerment, patriarchy and femininity tend to primarily weaken women entrepreneurs’ societal legitimacy, even though opposing more supportive discourses are also present. Implications for policy and practice are also highlighted.

Keywords: Women entrepreneurship; Gender stereotypes; Media representations; Discourses; Societal legitimacy; Tanzanian media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-92318-0_10

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-92318-0_10

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