Women’s entrepreneurship, health-related crisis and a gender-sensitive crisis management model for sustainable development

Abstract

A crisis often impacts women’s entrepreneurship in ways different from their male counterparts, highlighting the need for a customised response strategy specific to women entrepreneurs. Thus, the purpose of this study is to introduce a crisis management model that can guide the formulation of policies to facilitate the sustainability of women’s entrepreneurial activities before, during, and after a health-related crisis within developing economies. To address the purpose of this study, we utilised a case study research design that involved the in-depth interview of four women entrepreneurs who operated small businesses in Lagos, Nigeria. The interview sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. NVivo was used to code and analyse the transcripts thematically. This study contributes to the crisis management literature by introducing a gender-sensitive perspective to manage health crises. Such a gender-sensitive framework is crucial as it offers stakeholders the foundation for building customised policies that can profoundly affect women-owned businesses. For women entrepreneurs, this study offers insights into strategies that can be put in place before and during a crisis to mitigate the adverse impacts of the crisis. Thus, this study advances a gender-sensitive perspective as a much more practical approach to better understand women’s entrepreneurial activities during a crisis