Date of Award
6-2025
Document Type
Dissertation - SCU Access Only
Publisher
Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
First Advisor
Ezinne Ofoegbu
Second Advisor
La’Tonya “LT” Rease Miles
Third Advisor
Pedro Nava
Abstract
This qualitative narrative multiple case study explores how Women of Color Entrepreneurs (WoCEs) navigate intersecting structural, cultural, and emotional barriers that shape their entrepreneurial experiences. Grounded in feminist economics, intersectionality, and grit theory, the study centers the lived narratives of five WoCEs across California to examine how identity, cultural values, and caregiving responsibilities influence business motivations, strategies, and definitions of success.
Rather than framing their journeys through a deficit lens, this research adopts an assetbased approach to highlight the resilience, creativity, and community-rooted models that WoCEs cultivate. Findings reveal how participants strategically respond to systemic exclusion— including patriarchal norms that are sometimes upheld by other women—while building businesses that prioritize purpose, healing, cultural integrity, and support for marginalized communities over profit. Several participants described how grief and trauma played a role in shaping their ventures, transforming entrepreneurship into a vehicle for personal restoration and community uplift. These entrepreneurs consistently draw upon emotional labor, social capital, and relational leadership to operate within—and push back against—the constraints of traditional, patriarchal entrepreneurial ecosystems.
The study contributes to a more inclusive understanding of entrepreneurship by amplifying underrepresented voices and challenging dominant narratives that overlook the contributions, motivations, and complex realities of WoCEs. It offers practical and policyoriented recommendations to reimagine entrepreneurial ecosystems that recognize diverse pathways to success and support the full participation, leadership, and well-being of Women of Color.
Recommended Citation
Pham, Liz Thuy-Duong Nguyen, "Entrepreneurial Spirit in Women of Color: Case Studies on Navigating Cultural and Structural Barriers in Conventional Entrepreneurial Systems" (2025). Social Justice in Educational Leadership EdD Dissertations. 15.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/ed_dissertations/15
