Gender, Entrepreneurship and Public Policies in Portugal

In the 2000s, fostering entrepreneurship became a priority in the public discourse of the OECD and the European Union as being a means of creating new jobs and promoting innovation. The crisis has boosted this view and its assumption that the entrepreneurial potential of all sections of society should be used in order to achieve economic growth and development. Portugal has not been indifferent to this trend. A number of public policies have been devised to promote entrepreneurship among women and other segments of the population.  

This presentation reflects on the contribution that sociological research can give to the development of public policies aimed at increasing women’s participation in entrepreneurship in Portugal. The reflection begins with an analysis of the way in which entrepreneurship has been used by policymakers to promote gender equality in this country by examining the content of the successive National Plans for Gender Equality. This is followed by a discussion of the impact of these Plans and the role that sociology can play in assessing the measures that have been put into practice and formulating better informed public polices in this domain.