Context Craft sector is a major player in the economy, through traditions, techniques and culture it has brought and made evolve. It is a dynamic and growing sector, whose contribution to the dynamism of the territories is well established. These Very Small Entreprises link all the countries and carry strong values of transmission, excellence, know-how, short circuits, proximity or even sustainable development ...In recent years, there has been a new attraction for crafts by people with a first professional experience, wishing to give a new meaning to their life and choosing crafts to retrain. However, the craft sector still suffers from a degraded image in the eyes of the general public, which too often considers that the crafts they represent are painful and offer a limited future. This negative image also persists due to a lack of gender mix in many activities. In fact, the volume of women managers only reaches 25%. The vast majority work in services and caring profession (hairdresser, esthetician) or in production activities related to the traditional crafts (jeweler, upholsterer, textile manufacturing, etc.); few of them represent such sectors as mechanics, building. Mixed jobs, professional equality between women and men and female entrepreneurship are therefore priority issues for the craft sector! State of Art Entrepreneurship experts assume that women start fewer businesses than men because they face more obstacles (financial, time, and even self-confidence). 48% OF WOMEN THINK IT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO BE A MANAGER THAN AN EMPLOYEE AND THAT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, THE CATCHWORD MUST BE "COMPETE TO WIN, HAVE RELATIONSHIP, HAVE CHARACTER". Objectives - Study biopsychological criteria influencing entrepreneurs profile - Allow managers to enhance their skills on confidence and self esteem consideration - Encourage collaborative exchanges between managers - Facilitate access to entrepreneurship financing solutions Impact The project will have a direct impact at a national and European level, benefiting from the participation of the 4 committed countries to the different activities. The project will contribute in particular at: 1. Encouraging, developing and optimizing a training offer, based on an innovative approach 2. Boosting professional organizations to modernize traditional trades and promote growth 3. Convincing Politicians to support the craft sector, its economic and social value and its employment capacity
Our project’s objectives were to promote and foster female entrepreneurship thanks to the implementation and the experimentation of innovative supportive methodologies. The goals were to tackle four major issues encountered by women entrepreneurs while launching their own business. The expected results were: 1) To study psychological codes and cognitive aspects of a business leader to understand how they influence entrepreneurship and how they potentially function differently between genders. 2) To stimulate female leadership by helping women increase their level of self-confidence and self-efficacy to develop and lead a business. 3) To encourage constructive meetings between business leaders and stop isolation by sharing good practices. 4) Increase women entrepreneurs’ economic and financial skills to broaden their entrepreneurial project / ideas and thereby facilitate their financing.
Craft sector represents an important part of the economy and contributes to attractiveness of its territory, but it also suffers from a lack of gender mix in many craft professions. In 2022 in France, women business leaders in craft sector represents not more than 23%. Furthermore, experts in entrepreneurship stated that women are less likely to open their own business because they face more financial barriers, lack of time and self-confidence issues. Female entrepreneurship also suffers from stereotypes which sometimes categorize them as being less able to perform technical tasks, or even being less talented than men in certain types of activities. Those tendencies are also relevant at a European level: in Portugal, despite a high number of women entrepreneurs, they encounter obstacles linked to their personal life, a lack of financial support and trouble accessing quality advice. In Spain, a specific plan has been developed to help women entrepreneurs.