Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the leadership styles of African American women entrepreneurs (AAWEs). The fields of entrepreneurship and leadership include an ever-growing population of African American women with unique perspectives worth acknowledging. An examination of leadership experience detailed how AAWEs leveraged various leadership styles to accommodate particular audiences and achieve their business goals.|This research study examined the intersectionality of race and gender as contributory factors of entrepreneurial leadership as perceived by fifteen AAWEs. The researcher sought to explore leadership styles that seasoned AAWEs utilized to address entrepreneurial situations where racial and/or gender bias existed in order to provide insight for budding AAWEs. The exploration of leadership styles as well as factors that the AAWEs considered significant in their entrepreneurial pursuits provided the study data. For all of the women interviewed, the inability to gain access to opportunities, specific networks or bids, created challenges for AAWEs.|Academic literature reviewed for the study utilized leadership theory as it related to the influence of race and gender on AAWEs, as well as their underrepresentation in entrepreneurial business interactions. The new concept of “double duty” was revealed in this study. This research may also provide additional insight for policymakers and others who are concerned with creating additional access to opportunities for AAWEs.|Keywords: African American women entrepreneurs (AAWEs), leadership styles, entrepreneurship, racial and/or gender discrimination, intersectionality