A contextual analysis of entrepreneurial identity and experience: women entrepreneurs in Turkey

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary of opportunity structures in Turkey.

Opportunity Structures	Defining elements	Summary including contradictory elements in Turkey
Social opportunity structures	Cultural and religious rules, social practices and resources, and societal discourses on patriarchy, gender roles, social control mechanism, familial support, society’s view and understanding of women entrepreneurship	Patriarchy and social control mechanism; working women as modern and emancipated, yet still ultimate responsible for childcare and household; women entrepreneurship as necessity-driven, low scale and with little credibility.
Political opportunity structures	Political discourses, policies, and movements such as discussions on political inclination of the country, current policies on women empowerment, economic development, gender relations, and representations, discussions on headscarf	Islamic versus secular political discourse, differences in gender relations and representations; neo-liberal and neo-conservative policies supporting women entrepreneurship with different motives (economic development and flexible work environment, respectively).
Institutional opportunity structures	Regulations and practices on (women) business development (such as tax incentives, funding opportunities, and regulatory changes) and business relations (such as international and domestic business networks).	Women-specific bank loans, income-tax exemptions for goods such as traditional arts and crafts produced at home, government funds favouring women more than men (all serve as a financial helping hand for women but also portray women as ‘in need’).

Table 2. Demographics of the interviewees.

#	Nickname	Ethnicity/Nationality	Social Class	Age and City	Years of Operation	Field of Operation	Marital Status
1	Neva	Turkish	Lower class	34/Gaziantep	8	Boutique Patisserie	Married, 2 children
2	Demet	Turkish	Middle class	36/Gaziantep	6	Jewellery Store	Married, 3 children
3	Saadet	Turkish – German	Lower-middle class	58/Kayseri	21	Manufacturing	Married, 3 children
4	Vildan	Turkish	Middle class	56/Kayseri	19	Restaurant Chain	Married, 2 children, 7 grandchildren
5	Melda	Turkish	Middle class	41/Yalova	9	Technology	Married, 2 children
6	Emel	Turkish	Lower-middle class	27/Kocaeli	3	Technology	Single
7	Ruya	refuses to say	Higher class	52/Istanbul	20	Manufacturing	Married, 2 children
8	Kadriye	Turkish	Higher class	72/Istanbul	32	Manufacturing	Widow, 2 children, 3 grandchildren
9	Sevgi	Turkish	Middle class	48/Istanbul	20	Manufacturing	Married, one child
10	Aliye	Turkish	Middle class	49/Istanbul	13	Technology	Married, 2 children
11	Karine	Turkish – Armenian	Middle class	29/Istanbul	3	Fashion store	Married, no child

Table 3. Demographics and background information.

Pseudonym	Age	Ethnic/national background*	Social Class*	Marital status	Field of operation	City
Ruya	52	refuses to say	Higher class	Married, 2 children	Manufacturing	Istanbul
Saadet	58	German-Turkish	Low-middle class	Married, 3 children	Manufacturing	Kayseri
Melda	41	Turkish	Middle class	Married, 2 children	Technology	Yalova
Karine	29	Armenian-Turkish	Middle class	Married, no child	Fashion store	Istanbul
Demet	33	Turkish	Middle class	Married 3 children	Jewellery store	Gaziantep

*The women entrepreneurs in this study self-identified their ethnicity and class during the interview.