Improving gender equality through entrepreneurship: The role of women-dedicated business incubators

ABSTRACT

Several economic actors argue that gender equality and entrepreneurship would enhance economic, sustainable, and inclusive growth. Following these ideas, most countries are setting up business incubators to improve start-up creation. This article explores the role of French women’s business incubators in the development of female entrepreneurship as a key driver of women’s empowerment and gender equality. We observed some important aspects within women-dedicated business incubators, such as the development of confidence and inspiration through role models, but also a psychological attachment and a focus on mostly traditional female activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Entrepreneurship
• female incubators
• gender equality

Notes

¹ Principal national networks of women-dedicated business incubators are: Les premières (ex les pionières) (created in 2005, represents 11 incubators and more than 14,000 women entrepreneurs coached), Force femmes (created in 2005, represents 15 incubators and 25,000 women entrepreneurs coached), Acion’elles (created in 1994, more than 6,550 women entrepreneurs coached). There are also a multiplicity of other women’s business incubators and associations at regional levels.

² https://eige.europa.eu/thesaurus/terms/1210

³ Projects inside the incubator are distributed as follows: 39 percent in services to enterprises, 36 percent in commerce, 14 percent in personal services, 7 percent agricultural, and 4 percent in social.

⁴ See the problems detected in Amezcua et al. (2019) for the United States, and McAdam (2009) for Ireland.