Historic Black women entrepreneurs and activists such as Maggie Lena Walker, Mary Bibb, Annie Turnbo-Malone, Madam CJ Walker, and others have advocated for and created opportunities for greater representation in politics, education, business establishments, and other institutions traditionally dominated by white men (Knight, 2016; Phipps & Prieto, 2018; Phipps & Prieto, 2021). Their efforts have pushed for policy changes that help close the gender gap across all industries while bringing attention to the issues of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. By learning about Black women's contributions to entrepreneurship and activism, we can gain an understanding of how their work has helped create a more equitable world for all, and draw educative inspiration in terms of purposeful, strategic approaches for the continued advancement of Black women in business and other organizations (Ferraro, 2022). Through their dedication to survival, however, Black women entrepreneurs are able to persevere, defy stereotypes that may push them towards particular industries associated with their race and gender despite their skills, and dare to expand beyond the expected. Knight (2016) found that a feminized, service-typed industry (e.g., the bra business, pastry shops etc.) often induced approachability, while the discursiveness of the female Black body sometimes did not coincide with her profession (e.g., consulting, accounting, technology etc.). Yet, Black women entrepreneurs persisted. Dedication to survival also empowers them to utilize unique approaches and create innovative solutions (Knight, 2016; Smith, 2005) that not only benefit them, but others in similar situations, as well as the community at large.
Submission ID: 12683