Women in management of small enterprises: Co-inspiration between social and conventional enterprises to promote equal access to decision-making positions in six European countries

The comparative study focused on the access of women to the decision-making positions in the corporate sector that represents the problem almost in all European countries. To understand the situation in small companies, in 2014, we conducted a qualitative research study on opportunities and barriers for women in management of small conventional and social enterprises in six countries (i.e. Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, Finland and Italy). This European comparative study has shown how the various measures implemented by corporate and political stakeholders contribute to the enhancement of women´s participation to economic decision-making. In general social enterprises showed higher level of gender equality than conventional ones. The main differences between countries and companies compared were in the field of work/life balance measures.  Regarding the opportunities for and the barriers to the promotion of women in management, there are more differences between countries in the sectors compared than  between conventional and social enterprises in each country.