HEStaff exchange2026–2030

FEMENA · FEMale ENtrepreneurs in Asia: Innovation, Policies, Challenges and Opportunities in: Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2026-03-01 → 2030-02-28
EU contribution
€1,603,200
Participants
20
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-SE

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Project objective

Across the globe, widespread research continues to reaffirm that women face inferior income opportunities when compared with men. Women are less likely to work for income or to actively seek work; they have fewer opportunities for business expansion or career progression; they are disproportionately more likely to be homemakers yet household labour is not remunerated nor considered to be ‘work’. Women make up around half of the economically active population, however they are underrepresented in various fields, including entrepreneurship. According to World Bank data, in 2022 the global labour force participation rate for women was just over 50% compared to 80% for men. Globally, female labour force participation has not increased greatly over the last three decades and male/female disparities remain stark especially across large swathes of Asia. This is despite the fact that Asia is widely regarded as the engine for global economic growth. International organisations estimate that if women had equal representation in all labour markets, GDP could increase to approximately $136 trillion by 2025. At the same time female entrepreneurship and indicators for gender equality appear to go hand-in-hand, making both key factors for a country's economic development. With a total of 20 partners (10 from Europe and 10 from Asia, including 8 non-academic partners) FEMENA draws on world-class expertise to design an inter-disciplinary, international and inter-sectoral research and training programme that addresses the central questions of how female entrepreneurship is framed, fostered, and promoted across Asia. Four phases of secondments will develop an integrated methodological framework based on Amartya Sen's capability approach to explore how individuals, across a range of contexts and operating in difference sectors, assess their opportunities and abilities rather than applying categories that risk being too context-specific or that ignore path dependency effects.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY · DublinCoordinatorIreland
  • ASSOCIACAO LABORATORIO COLABORATIVOPARA O TRABALHO, EMPREGO E PROTECAO SOCIAL · LisboaPortugal
  • Centre for Poverty Analysis · ColomboSri Lanka
  • DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY · ManilaPhilippines
  • DHIVEHI RAAJEYGE QAUMEE UNIVERSITY · MaleMaldives
  • GENDER-CENTRU · CHISINAUMoldova
  • LAHORE UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES · LahorePakistan
  • LATVIJAS UNIVERSITATE · RIGALatvia
  • MOROBE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION INC · LaePapua New Guinea
  • PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT KNOWLEDGE AGENCY · VIENTIANELaos
  • PARTNERE NE ZGJIDHJE DHE ZHVILLIM · TiranaAlbania
  • Public Foundation ""STRATEGIA"" Center for Soical and Political Studies"""" · AlmatyKazakhstan
  • RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITAET HEIDELBERG · HeidelbergGermany
  • SIAR RESEARCH AND CONSULTING LLC · BishkekKyrgyzstan
  • SOUTHASIA INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES · KATHMANDU METROPOLISNepal
  • The University of Danang - University of Science and Technology · DanangVietnam
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MESSINA · MessinaItaly
  • UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES · Bruxelles / BrusselBelgium
  • UNIVERSITEIT ANTWERPEN · AntwerpenBelgium
  • UNIWERSYTET IM. ADAMA MICKIEWICZA WPOZNANIU · PoznanPoland

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union