Social media in the context of women's empowerment: Women entrepreneurs on Instagram

Today, in addition to communication opportunities, digital technologies that provide significant possibilities for participation, interaction, and the creation of new business models in various fields from professional life to everyday life have started to attract great interest in terms of entrepreneurial activities. Social media platforms, as part of digital technologies, have become an attractive option for many institutions, companies, and individual entrepreneurs due to their ease of use, instant access to large audiences, elimination of time and space constraints, and cost savings. The opportunities offered by social media platforms for entrepreneurial activities provide empowerment strategies, especially for disadvantaged groups and individuals. This study focuses on the experiences of women engaged in entrepreneurial activities on Instagram, in the context of gender inequalities that they face. Within the scope of the thesis, in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 17 women who are running entrepreneurial activities on Instagram. The interviews with the participants were evaluated in terms of the relationship between running entrepreneurial activities on social media and women's empowerment. The study concluded that although empowerment starts in the economic context, it simultaneously continues with significant gains and transformations in the social, economic, and personal dimensions of women's lives.