International Women’s Day provides an important moment to reflect on the progress made, and the work still ahead, in achieving SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth for women globally. For many women, particularly in the Global South, entrepreneurship, informal enterprise, and community-based economic activity remain vital pathways to livelihood, resilience, and social transformation.

As a scholar working at the intersection of gender, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and development, my research focuses on how women navigate structural inequalities while building enterprises that sustain families, communities, and local economies. These themes also underpin our recently launched book series, Palgrave Studies in Gender and Sustainable Enterprise, which aims to create a space for globally inclusive and contextually grounded scholarship on gendered economic participation.

Below, I reflect on some key questions shaping this field today.

Scholars and Changemakers Who Inspire My Work

Many scholars have profoundly shaped how we understand gender, economic participation, and social justice. Feminist economists such as Naila Kabeer have been instrumental in reframing women’s empowerment as both a process and an outcome linked to resources, agency, and institutional structures. Similarly, scholars such as Bina Agarwal, Sue Marlow, Haya Al Dajana, Lorna Trainor (and many more) have demonstrated how gender inequality in access to land, resources, and decision-making power shapes women’s economic opportunities.

Beyond academia, women entrepreneurs themselves are powerful sources of inspiration. In many communities across Africa and other parts of the Global South, women operate businesses under extremely constrained conditions, limited access to finance, infrastructure gaps, social norms, and policy barriers, yet they continue to innovate and adapt. Their experiences challenge dominant Western narratives of entrepreneurship and highlight alternative pathways of economic agency.

Persistent Gaps in Research on Women’s Economic Participation

Despite significant progress in gender and entrepreneurship research, several gaps remain.

First, Global South perspectives are still underrepresented in mainstream scholarship. Much of the literature continues to be shaped by Eurocentric assumptions about markets, institutions, and entrepreneurship. Yet women’s economic realities in many regions are embedded in informal economies, community networks, and hybrid livelihood strategies.

Second, the intersection of gender, sustainability, and enterprise remains underexplored. Women entrepreneurs often operate at the frontline of climate change adaptation, local sustainability initiatives, and community resilience. However, research rarely integrates these dimensions into analyses of entrepreneurship and economic development.

Third, policy frameworks often overlook structural inequalities that shape women’s economic participation, such as unpaid care burdens, digital divides, and unequal access to productive assets.

Our new series, Palgrave Studies in Gender and Sustainable Enterprise, aims to address these gaps by foregrounding diverse epistemologies and lived experiences, particularly from the Global South, while challenging dominant narratives about enterprise and development.

Unexpected Insights from Research on Women’s Economic Participation

One of the most striking insights from my research is how women entrepreneurs often redefine what success means.

Rather than focusing solely on profit maximization or rapid growth, metrics commonly used in mainstream entrepreneurship research, many women entrepreneurs prioritise community wellbeing, family stability, and social impact. Their businesses frequently function as economic safety nets for extended families and local communities.

Another surprising finding is the extent of innovation emerging from resource-constrained environments. Women entrepreneurs regularly develop creative solutions using local knowledge systems, informal financing mechanisms, and collaborative networks. These forms of innovation often remain invisible in conventional policy frameworks, yet they are essential to local economic resilience.

Emerging Pathways for Advancing Women’s Economic Equality

Several promising developments are emerging globally.

One is the growing recognition of inclusive innovation systems, where policymakers and researchers are beginning to acknowledge the importance of grassroots entrepreneurship and informal economic activity.

Another important trend is the digital transformation of work and enterprise. Digital platforms can enable women to access markets, networks, and resources that were previously inaccessible. However, these opportunities must be accompanied by policies addressing digital inequalities and online safety.

Finally, there is increasing interest in decolonial and feminist approaches to entrepreneurship research. These perspectives encourage scholars to question dominant economic models and recognise diverse pathways to economic participation and wellbeing.

These themes are central to the Palgrave series, which encourages interdisciplinary and comparative research on topics ranging from gender and informal economies to digital transformation, sustainable entrepreneurship, and gender-responsive innovation systems.

Women’s Economic Futures in an Era of Global Disruption

Global disruptions, including climate change, automation, and AI-driven labour transformations, will reshape economic landscapes in profound ways.

For women in many parts of the world, these shifts present both risks and opportunities. Automation may displace workers in sectors where women are concentrated, while climate change threatens livelihoods dependent on agriculture or natural resources.

At the same time, new sectors, such as green entrepreneurship, digital services, and social enterprise, may open pathways for more inclusive economic participation.

The challenge for policymakers and researchers is ensuring that these transitions are gender-responsive and inclusive, rather than reinforcing existing inequalities.

Advice for Early-Career Researchers in Gender and Economic Justice

My advice to emerging scholars is threefold. First, listen closely to lived experiences. Grounding research in the realities of women’s everyday economic practices can reveal insights that are often invisible in macro-level analyses.

Second, embrace interdisciplinary thinking. Questions of gender, work, and development intersect with economics, sociology, geography, environmental studies, and political economy.

Finally, centre voices from underrepresented contexts. The future of gender and entrepreneurship research must reflect the diversity of women’s economic lives across the world.