“Doing one's work” in entrepreneurship studies: interpellation, distraction, disruption and transformation

Purpose This paper takes seriously the feminist adage that ‘the personal is political’ by critically exploring my experiences as an early career scholar of gender and entrepreneurship studies to offer vital context for the contributions of my work and future research agenda, in light of the current historical moment of interconnected political, public health, and environmental calamity. <br>Design/methodology/approach I present reflections on my positionality, philosophical and political commitments, and theorise from my experiences of racist distraction and intersectional marginality in contemporary academia, considering their implications for incoming and aspiring gender and entrepreneurship scholars whose research agendas are still in development. <br>Findings While racism functions as a persistent distraction from our overall research agendas and activities, and delimits the lane of our perceived contributions, collectively challenging it in our work and study presents a vehicle by which we can enrich our own intellectual and affectual experiences of academic work, and create a spacious and expansive legacy of critical scholarship resonant for years to come. <br>Originality The paper argues that although racism will doubtlessly continue to cause immense distraction, it opens the potential to create positive social change, through collectivising with a community that recognises the value of individual contributions to shaping a liveable, equitable, and imaginative academic future.