Life Milestones That Contribute to Psychological Resilience for Entrepreneurship: A Life-Story-Based Approach With Migrant Women in Southern Spain

Referencia: Peña-Domínguez, Cristina; Duque, Tatiana; Duque-Arroyo, Begoña; and Paloma, Virginia. (2026).  Life milestones that contribute to psychological resilience for entrepreneurship: a life-story-based approach with migrant women in Southern Spain. Gender, Work & Organization: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.70245.

Migrant women often find a labor market segmented by gender, migrant status, and social class, with precarious working conditions in host societies. In this context, entrepreneurship emerges as an alternative way of overcoming structural inequities in the labor market, offering migrant women the opportunity to increase their economic autonomy and achieve their migration goals. This study aims to identify the main life milestones that significantly impact the development of migrant women’s psychological resilience for entrepreneurship in host societies. Using a life-story-based approach, data on the entrepreneurial trajectories of five migrant women in southern Spain were collected. The results report that different life milestones in the country of origin (growing up in a context of economic vulnerability, preserving their spiritual roots, living positive work experiences, and having contact with resilient role models), in the migration process, and in the country of destination (facing a limited labor offer, lack of social support networks, and receiving informative and emotional support from community resources) have contributed significantly to the migrant women’s psychological resilience for entrepreneurship. Social implications to address the existing gaps in migrant women’s entrepreneurial development in host societies are discussed.

Publicación completa: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.70245.