Keywords
gender equality
women’s entrepreneurial aspirations
How to Cite
Abstract
Despite the increased visibility of the important role women play in entrepreneurship; socially constructed stereotypic views continue to reproduce gender discrimination in terms of opportunities, resources, and rewards; and lower women’s self-confidence; consequently, women become less entrepreneurial compared to men. Given that the process of undoing negative social constructions varies widely according to culture and interventions, to better explain the intervention process that works to promote gender equality and supports unique aspects of women’s values in specific cultural settings requires research enquiry. This research explores how a care model provision fosters gender equality and women’s entrepreneurial aspirations, drawn from observation of ten para-counselors who have shared everyday lives and views of the children and adults of the care model. The care model has great potential to promote gender equality as the model opens up opportunities for women having disadvantaged backgrounds to access education capital that supports women to reach their fullest human potential, realize dignity, and contribute to and benefit from economic, social, cultural, and structural development. Furthermore, the values of these women opened up opportunities to fulfill ideological deficiencies of the girls’ socialization process at an early age, help girls from low socio-economic backgrounds to experience early learning and development crucial for reaching their fullest potentials, alter socially constructed male-female differences, and emancipate women and girls from patriarchal oppression. Women caregivers’ such values and increased personal abilities had a noticeable impact on these women’s aspirations to be entrepreneurs, which differ from the constraints placed by cultural stereotypes and prejudices on their gender roles.
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