STRATEGO Webinar on #Entrepreneurship through an #Intersectional Lens

On May 13, 2025, the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence STRATEGO hosted a thought-provoking session, moderated by Johanna Vanderstraeten, exploring how intersecting identities shape entrepreneurial motivations, experiences, and inequalities. STRATEGO promotes a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by individuals and institutions within the EU governance system, with a focus on trust, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship. In this context, the webinar offered both conceptual grounding and empirical insight into the role of intersectionality in entrepreneurship research. 

The session featured two insightful presentations: 

Francesco Paolo Lagrasta (Politecnico di Bari, Italy) 

“Feminisms and Entrepreneurship: Investigating a Troubled Connection” 

This presentation examined the complex and often overlooked relationship between feminist theory and entrepreneurship. It highlighted how feminist perspectives challenge dominant entrepreneurial norms by centering inclusivity, equity, and social impact. Reflections from ongoing research illustrated how feminist entrepreneurs pursue business not only for economic reasons but also as a means of self-realisation and systemic change, broadening our understanding of what entrepreneurship can mean. 

Erika Branca (University of Antwerp & Ghent University) 

“Empirical Insights from the ECOOM Student Entrepreneurship Research Group: Intersecting Identities in Student Entrepreneurship” 

As part of the ECOOM Student Entrepreneurship Project, which aims to generate insights and policy recommendations to support student entrepreneurship in Flanders, Erika presented how gender, migration background, and social class intersect to shape students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and behaviour. Preliminary findings show that women, migrants, and students from lower social classes tend to report lower ESE, linked to exposure to discrimination, stereotypes, and structural barriers. These effects are especially pronounced for second-generation immigrants. Lower ESE, in turn, reduces the likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activities. The presentation highlighted the need for intersectional research frameworks that move beyond one-dimensional categories to better understand and support diverse student entrepreneurs by capturing how overlapping disadvantages shape entrepreneurial engagement. 

This webinar contributed to an ongoing dialogue on how intersectional approaches can enrich entrepreneurship research, inform policy, and foster more inclusive ecosystems.