2022-04-25
Dr. Madeleine Kassab, founder and president of the International Organization for Media, Creativity and Development in Sweden, participated in the international conference entitled "The Effective Empowerment of Women and its Role in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab Countries", which was organized by the Al-Bayan Center for Studies and Planning on March 28 and 29, 2022.
Abstract
Media Framing of the Arab Entrepreneur Woman
In the context of the turbulence which shakes the Arab world on the political, military, economic, social and religious levels, the media implants and reinforces different mental images of the Arab entrepreneur woman who still faces various obstacles and challenges. Media is the main source of knowledge for many Arab people. Consequently, the image of the Arab female entrepreneur in the recipient’s mind is influenced by the information given by the sender who has certain aims or propaganda. The internet allows the female entrepreneur a broader margin of freedom and ability of success. However, it also causes conceptual confusion concerning her reality and circumstances. This study aims at analyzing the media frames adopted by a group of websites in discussing the issues of the Arab entrepreneur woman between 2019 and 2020. How does media present the term “entrepreneurship”? What are the characteristics of the entrepreneur woman according to the senders? What are the highlighted challenges and successes? Did media iconify particular persons or was the discourse general? Was the trend of the content positive or negative towards the woman? The qualitative semiotic analysis is adopted in order to detect the explicit or implicit content of the message and the denotative and connotative levels of the significations. The study of the interrelation between the verbal and non-verbal signifiers gives way to understanding the mechanism of reshaping the reality through signs. The re-depiction of facts is done through several ways some of which are word selectivity, absenting, highlighting, exaggeration, simplification and repetition. The importance of the research arises from the ability of media to not only convey realities but to create them as well especially since the dependence of the masses on the internet as a main means of knowledge and of organizing and performing the vocational and social activities increases day by day. Therefore, the media portrayal of the female entrepreneur is able to raise or minimize her role particularly in the times of crises and wars. Despite the importance of this topic, there are not enough studies that tackle the media frames in the Arab discourse concerning the entrepreneur woman.
Key words: female entrepreneur, the Arab world, crises, internet, media frames.
