This paper addresses how a managing director in a social initiative formsand sustains herself as an ethical subject at work. Drawing onethnographic material and Simon Critchley’s philosophy, I theorize herethical subjectivity through the concepts of ethical experience andfaithless faith. The analysis shows how she, through an ethicalexperience, is passively moved by a felt demand (creating equalopportunities) and then actively binds herself to a notion of good(being a spokesperson). It further shows how her ethical subjectivity issustained through her faithless faith (practical commitment andcontinuous striving). The paper extends research on whether ethicalsubjectivity should be viewed as passive or active by highlighting howit unfolds as both over time. It also contributes to research on howethical subjectivity can be sustained amid multiple demands andchallenges. These insights advance research on ethical subjectivity as amessy, situated, embodied, meaningful, and relational practice.

The FLIARA EU-funded Horizon Europe Project aims to transform the grand narrative of innovation by emphasising both the innovations led by women and the women themselves. Its goal is to demonstrate that rural and farm women are crucial for achieving gender equality and ensuring the development and sustainability of rural communities and farms throughout Europe. Launched in January 2023, the FLIARA Project encompasses ten EU countries and includes fifteen project partners. Two hundred women involved in innovative farming and rural innovations were interviewed to better understand the innovations they lead, the challenges they face, the policies they seek, and the support they need to advance their agricultural and rural innovations. Among these, 20 Swedish women were interviewed and have since become key members of the FLIARA Project in Sweden. These interviews provided a valuable opportunity to explore their intriguing ventures and gain insight into the dedication and hard work they put in day after day. Two women were selected as FLIARA ambassadors: Malin Axelsson and Alexandra Larsson. This booklet provides insight into their experiences and projects and eighteen other creative and hard-working women.

This paper extends research investigating ‘entrepreneuring as emancipation’ by reimagining it as a broader struggle for a freer life. To do this, I draw upon Martin Hägglund’s philosophy, particularly his view of freedom as having more time to pursue activities that matter to us, and by using two little narratives as illustrative examples. This view of freedom challenges neoliberal and liberal conceptions of a freer life and advances our understanding in two areas. First, the paper illustrates ‘entrepreneuring as emancipation’ as a broader struggle, and as a question of degrees, since it both holds the potential to increase the realm of freedom, thus enabling women to lead freer and more meaningful lives in specific contexts, and the danger of bolstering the realm of necessity, leading women to spend their time on activities where they only endure present ways of living or endorse neoliberal lifestyles. Second, the paper illustrates ‘entrepreneuring as emancipation’ as a broader struggle since it sparks women’s spiritual freedom as they start questioning and transforming taken-for-granted ideas of who they should be and what they should do with their time. Finally, the paper contributes methodologically to research focusing on marginalized voices beyond the lead entrepreneur.

Purpose - This paper engages with the concept of tragedy to deepen our understanding of how organizational ethnographers can make sense of the injustices we face and the emotions we feel during fieldwork.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses empirical extracts from one interview and field experiences from a two-and-a-half-year ethnographic study on social entrepreneurship.

Findings - The paper first shows how tragedy, as a distinct way of seeing, and, more specifically, as a radical critique, enables organizational ethnographers to reflect on injustices without disregarding people's harsh and ambiguous living conditions. It then shows how tragedy can transform us as organizational ethnographers by changing what we know, who we are, and what we do. This transformative experience involves gaining new knowledge and a deepened understanding of people's lives. It also involves changing one's identity, preferences, and values as a researcher. Lastly, this transformation holds the potential to foster a sense of resistance and collective responsibility for the injustices people experience.

Originality/value - The paper adds to our knowledge by demonstrating how tragedy can function both as a radical critique that generates relevant and meaningful knowledge about injustices and emotions and as a transformative experience that profoundly shapes our becoming as organizational ethnographers.