Being all things to all people: How gender shapes entrepreneurs’ multifaceted digital identities on X

Abstract

Drawing on identity work frameworks, this article investigates the influence of gender on entrepreneurs’ digital identities on social media. Using a sample of 17,899 active X profiles from self-identified entrepreneurs across seven English-speaking countries, we found that women entrepreneurs display multifaceted digital identities characterised by variety and balance. Compared to men, women entrepreneurs were especially likely to display a multifaceted digital identity in less gender-equal societies, suggesting that gender norms – society’s expectations for the performance of gender – may function as a mechanism for identity work in digital contexts. The results also indicate that women entrepreneurs benefit from displaying multifaceted identities with respect to network-building, although this relationship was stronger in more gender-equal societies. Through examining women entrepreneurs from multiple countries, these findings contribute to a generalisable understanding of their digital identity work as situated in a fundamentally gendered context that necessitates a socially credible – that is, gendered – identity performance.