Experiences of Iranian women entrepreneurs in the ICT (information and communications technology) sector

Despite the expansion of women’s entrepreneurship in Iran, women still face many challenges that make it difficult to start a business. Barriers such as limited funding, gender biases, limited government support, and family responsibilities have been in the way of women entrepreneurs for many years and women face more barriers than men (Shinnar, Giacomin, & Janssen, 2012). Still, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are appearing as increasingly valuable business tools for women entrepreneurs. That being the case, I investigated the barriers to Iranian women entrepreneurs in the ICT sector as well as their resilience to those barriers. To conduct my research, I collected already published interviews with 12 women entrepreneurs in the media, prepared a codebook, and analyzed them through feminist content analysis. I found that challenges to women’s entrepreneurship in Iran in the ICT sector include some obstacles. These obstacles contain those that are specific to Iran, such as the lack of foreign trade, economic instability, bribery, brain drain, sanctions, decrease in tourism, filtering, low internet speed, lack of cutting-edge technology, some Islamic laws practice in Iran. Obstacles also include the lack of trust in women for activities outside the home, gender role expectations (including family responsibilities and childcare), literacy and education, finance, a lack of professional human resources to be recruited for their companies, and time-consuming and inefficient bureaucracy. In terms of women entrepreneurs’ resilience, I found that women tried to navigate their challenges by working hard, having motivation, perseverance, and self-confidence, conducting time management and responsibility, and acquiring related skills and knowledge. Women had resilience while receiving support from family members, reducing household and childcare pressures, as well as developing cooperation and assistance from others and practicing teamwork. Through a better understanding of their challenges, the findings of my research would benefit Iranian women entrepreneurs, especially in the ICT sector.