Shame, silence, and social norms: understanding how patriarchy norms shape the entrepreneurial confidence of Nigerian women

Purpose Drawing on the Silence resilience theory, to investigate how Nigerian women entrepreneurs build confidence by resisting the shame and silence imposed by patriarchal norms. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a qualitative, interpretivist approach using semi-structured interviews with 26 Nigerian women entrepreneurs across multiple sectors. Findings Findings reveal that deep-seated patriarchal expectations frame entrepreneurship as a male-dominated domain that leads to internalised shame and reduced confidence. However, Women demonstrating shame resilience developed through peer networks, reframing narratives, and leadership training, which are better equipped in challenging social constraints, sustain ventures, and project confident identities. Resilience emerges not just as an individual attribute but as a socially supported process that is cultivated through mentorship and skill-building initiatives that enable women to navigate cultural barriers and assert their entrepreneurial agency. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to a Nigerian context, potentially constraining the transferability of results. Future research could apply a cross-country comparative lens or mixed-methods designs to deepen the understanding of silence and resilience dynamics in entrepreneurial contexts. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution by bridging Shame Resilience Theory with women’s entrepreneurship in the Global South, an intersection that is hardly addressed in management and leadership development literature. This study highlights the emotional and psychological dimensions of entrepreneurial agency. It advances theory by positioning shame resilience as a leadership development tool, and reframes it from a personal coping mechanism to a strategic, culturally relevant capacity-building approach.