#GirlBossing the university side hustle: Entrepreneurial femininities, postfeminism and the veneer of ‘female success’ in times of crisis

Against a backdrop of the growing crisis in higher education, economic fallout COVID-19 pandemic and longer-term precaritisation youth graduate labour market, last 2 years have witnessed an increased visibility promotion flexible, entrepreneurial often digitally mediated forms self-employment addressed at young women, including ‘side hustle’. With media declarations such as ‘the university side hustle has come age’, universities themselves begun embedding initiatives that seemingly help students launch ‘student hustle’ they turn passions into projects. The student been advocated feasible way not only supplementing income while studying but also investing one’s future employability context increasingly uncertain outcomes. In this article we connect emergence to broader postfeminist landscape which (young) women are invited engage through promise ‘passionate work’, financial autonomy time-freedom. We demonstrate where outnumber men dominate degree subjects badged ‘low value’ due declining outcomes, institutional incitements distinctly gendered. Crucially, contend framing – become ‘poster girls’ entrepreneurialism works facilitate sustain myths ideals success masking ongoing crises gendered inequalities underpin contemporary education market.