The Empowerment And Construction Of Identity ——A Case Study On Female Entrepreneurs In Rural Anhui Province

Promoting entrepreneurship among women in rural areas is important for optimizing the structure of rural industry.Encouraging these women to start their own businesses can not only improve their quality of life,but also promote economic and social development in rural areas.To this end,China’s Women’s Federation carried out a "Women’s Action for Rural Revitalization" initiative as part of the implementation of China’s "rural revitalization" policy,bringing entrepreneurial benefits to women in these areas.This paper selected villages in central China for this field study,particularly those famous for their e-commerce industry.This study utilizes qualitative research methods,semi-structured interviews and participatory observation.Further information includes internal materials and website introductions provided by enterprises,social media posts by entrepreneurs,and information published on the Women’s Federation website and official account.Existing studies on female entrepreneurs typically base themselves on the "homogeneity hypothesis",while not studying the impact of gender on entrepreneurial performance.In a similar fashion,this paper concerns itself mainly with how identity impacts female entrepreneurial action,ultimately emphasizing the positive role of femininity.Identity here refers to a combination of female identity and entrepreneurial identity.This paper considers identity construction as a process of both internal and external factors.Internally,this manifests as an identity subject that shows a specific image through language or behavior.Externally,it is the social feedback this image receives.Furthermore,both of these factors intersect with and influence each other.Construction of the identity subject is divided into two aspects.One is the entrepreneur’s understanding of,and the agreement between,their subject and their self-identity,and the other is the expression of entrepreneur’s external identity.This paper emphasizes the subjectivity of female entrepreneurs through the process of expressing identity through symbols.Specifically,it describes how women define their "job title symbol",how they display an "image symbol",and how they use a "weakling symbol".This paper makes three main conclusions: First,identity is fluid,sensitive to context and conducive to resources.By building specific identities in different scenarios,female entrepreneurs can take part in business activities,assign responsibilities and achieve specific goals.Second,an entrepreneurial identity can stimulate entrepreneurial self-efficacy.Image symbols and weakling symbols can be utilized in communication to obtain appreciation,help and merit from others.Third,external forces also empower female entrepreneurs by shaping their identities.The social order behind gender discourse determines their social position and the group they belong to.Honorary symbols given by institutions emphasize the special identity of female entrepreneurs and brings resources to female entrepreneurs through the transformation of symbolic capital.