Stories from the heart in a time of COVID-19: a critical study of the discourse of entrepreneurship and its lived realities for women entrepreneurs in Gauteng

Abstract

This research report questions the mainstream discourse of entrepreneurship in South Africa, by examining the covers of a popular entrepreneurship magazine over a calendar year. The findings are compared to data gathered from interviews conducted with ten women entrepreneurs in Gauteng, South Africa. The research aims to interrogate the mythologising of entrepreneurship with a particular lens on its raced and gendered construction. The research was conducted using the tools of Critical Discourse and Narrative Analysis within a Critical Diversity Lens framework. The study aims to privilege the voices of Black women entrepreneurs, by creating a space for the centering their ‘stories from the heart’ in a narrative format. The research was conducted against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic which required flexibility in the data gathering process. In conclusion, the research presents a range of suggestions for entrepreneurship to be reimagined in transformative ways.