Political support for women entrepreneurs: The EQUAL Community Initiative in Spain and Portugal.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the application of EU programmes that seek to help women to set up their own businesses and discuss how public measures can help full integration of women into all walks of society, especially within jobs that correspond to their skills and capabilities. Design/methodology/approach - After a literature review on the difficulties women face to find a suitable job, according to their preparation, their needs and their expectations, and the political considerations to act towards equality, this study is aimed at analyzing a European initiative designed to avoid gendered impacts on the present labour market. Through in-depth interviews of project leaders stemming from the EQUAL Community Initiative, a list of mechanisms to support female entrepreneurship is discussed. Findings - The paper concludes that, while there is no single remedy that will adequately address the complex mix of factors that keep women entrepreneurs behind men, most projects focus on training, funding and mentoring as key supporting tools. Research limitations/implications - The limited sample and the focus on the project leaders as the only interviewees make generalization of findings difficult. Future interesting research lines would involve deeper investigation into the highlighted topics, especially training and mentoring. Practical implications - The paper is a useful source of information about the contents of public support programmes for practical researchers planning to study in greater depth the specific measures to fight against gendered inequality. Originality/value - This article gives additional insight into public measures to help female entrepreneurship, stressing the main support lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]