Higher Education Leaders as Entre-Employees: A Narrative Study

Abstract

During 2020, the world experienced a pandemic that led to sickness, death, and a global shutdown. Businesses closed, governments worked to keep people paid during the shutdown, children learned from their homes, and adults worked from home (for those who could).  Other adults lost their jobs due to downsizing during the pandemic, while others quit their jobs, starting the great resignation (Cook 2021). Among those affected were African American women who launched their own companies, even those with leadership roles in higher education. Whether they did so as a side business or as a second full-time career, the pandemic provided them an opportunity to take a risk. While starting a business is a cause for a celebration, the reasons behind women leaders in higher education starting their own companies is more complex. The purpose of this study, using narrative inquiry and semi-structured questions was to understand why African American women leaders, working in higher education, chose to launch their businesses during the COVID pandemic. Analyzing the participants’ life stories, the researcher discovered that familial history of entrepreneurship, inequities in the workplace, and valuing authentic leadership led African American higher education leaders to create businesses for themselves while also remaining in their higher educational roles, which they enjoyed.