Analyzing the Intersection of Disability and Entrepreneurship: A Study on the Social Capital of EWD

The paper aims to examine - Do female Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (EWD) possess less social capital in their formal and informal networks than male EWDs? Drawing on the social capital theory and using an intersectionality lens, we argue that female and male EWD receive varying types of supportive (companionship and emotional support— positive social capital) or discordant relationships (conflict and exclusion— negative social capital) with different stakeholders. Using data for 463 EWDs, we focus on two stakeholders, viz., spouse, in the informal network, and venture capitalist, in the formal network. The paper contributes to the gender and entrepreneurship literature in three ways. First, it advances the intersectionality perspective in entrepreneurship literature by capturing the experiences of female and male EWD (gender and disability). Second, it highlights how the network of EWD may be a source of positive or negative social capital. Last, social capital largely remains studied from an entrepreneur's point of view — the receiving end. However, understanding the stakeholders who provide social capital to the entrepreneurs is rarely touched.