Navigating patriarchy: Feminist readings of psychological resilience and mental health struggles among women entrepreneurs in Eastern Turkey

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs in Eastern Turkey navigate a gendered entrepreneurial ecosystem shaped by patriarchal norms, structural exclusion, and emotional labour that collectively intensify their mental health burden. This study draws on phenomenological interviews with women leading micro- and small-scale enterprises to offer a feminist re-reading of psychological resilience. The study proposes that resilience should be viewed not as an individual trait, but as a relational and culturally embedded survival strategy. The findings demonstrate how credibility gaps, everyday sexism, financial gatekeeping, and social stigma surrounding women's leadership generate chronic stress, anxiety and emotional exhaustion. However, women have been shown to mobilise internal and collective resources, including self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, adaptive leadership and networks of solidarity, in order to resist marginalisation and preserve psychosocial wellbeing. These strategies can be considered as manifestations of feminist agency in contexts characterised by structural restrictions. The present study makes a contribution to feminist knowledge production by placing women's voices from a marginalised region, which is frequently absent in mainstream entrepreneurship and mental health research, at the forefront. The policy implications of these findings are manifold, including the need for culturally grounded psychological support, gender-sensitive mentorship programmes, and institutional reforms that recognise the emotional and structural labour required for women's entrepreneurial survival. The findings have more general relevance for understanding the gendered mental health consequences of entrepreneurship in patriarchal societies.