This article examines how women enact an entrepreneurial identity as a means to secure legitimacy for their entrepreneurial activity. Using a netnographic analysis of media interviews with women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we identify how women construct an entrepreneurial identity. Findings indicate that women highlight micro aspects of their identity, provide both personal and external sources of evidence to substantiate their claims, and adhere to potentially conflicting institutional logics. The findings contribute to knowledge of how entrepreneurship is legitimised and can disrupt institutional arrangements that constrain women. We provide both a gendered and novel contextual view, adding theoretical depth to contemporary conceptualisations of entrepreneurial legitimacy.

本文探讨了女性如何将创业身份作为确保其创业活动合法性的一种手段。通过对阿拉伯联合酋长国 (UAE) 女性的媒体采访进行网络图分析，我们确定了女性如何构建企业家身份。调查结果表明，女性强调她们身份的微观方面，提供个人和外部证据来源来证实她们的主张，并坚持可能相互冲突的制度逻辑。调查结果有助于了解创业如何合法化，并可能破坏限制女性的制度安排。我们提供了一种性别化和新颖的背景观点，为当代企业家合法性的概念化增加了理论深度。