Bastida Domínguez, MaríaVaquero García, AlbertoVázquez Taín, Miguel AnxoRío Araújo, María Luisa del2025-07-212025-07-212025-02-05Bastida, M., Vaquero García, A., Vázquez Taín, M. Á., & Del Río Araújo, M. (2025). Women leading the charge in the social and solidarity economy: A snapshot of gender perceptions of entrepreneurship. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 96, 201–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.124971370-4788https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42552This study examines the influence of gender on the selection of business models within the social and solidarity economy (SSE), focusing on women's preference for collaborative and socially oriented business models that can promote inclusive and sustainable economic development. Using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey in Galicia, Spain, the research highlights that women entrepreneurs are more attracted to the SSE because of its emphasis on generating social value rather than direct economic benefit. Gender differences are significant, with women showing greater alignment with SSE principles than men. These results underscore the importance of public policies designed to support female entrepreneurship in the SSE, recognizing women's potential to contribute to economic growth through sustainable practices. The study enhances the understanding of gender dynamics in entrepreneurship, offering valuable insights into how a gender perspective can enrich the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the SSE and inform the development of targeted support strategies that promote economic development, job creation and social well-being.eng© 2025 The Author(s). Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Edgard Milhaud Foundation. Received: 23 March 2024 Revised: 18 October 2024 Accepted: 9 January 2025 DOI: 10.1111/apce.12497 O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E Women leading the charge in the social and solidarity economy: A snapshot of gender perceptions of entrepreneurship María Bastida1 Alberto Vaquero García2 Miguel Ángel Vázquez Taín3 Marisa Del Río Araújo1 1 Department of Business Organization and Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain 2 Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Business and Tourism, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain 3 Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain Correspondence María Bastida, Department of Business Organization and Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Santiago de Compostela, USC Campus Norte, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Email: maria.bastida@usc.es Funding information Consellería de Economía, Emprego e Industria, Xunta de Galicia, Grant/Award Number: 2022-CP024 Abstract This study examines the influence of gender on the selection of business models within the social and sol- idarity economy (SSE), focusing on women’s preference for collaborative and socially oriented business models that can promote inclusive and sustainable economic development. Using data from the Global Entrepreneur- ship Monitor survey in Galicia, Spain, the research highlights that women entrepreneurs are more attracted to the SSE because of its emphasis on generating social value rather than direct economic benefit. Gender dif- ferences are significant, with women showing greater alignment with SSE principles than men. These results underscore the importance of public policies designed to support female entrepreneurship in the SSE, recogniz- ing women’s potential to contribute to economic growth through sustainable practices. The study enhances the understanding of gender dynamics in entrepreneurship, offering valuable insights into how a gender perspective can enrich the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the SSE and inform the development of targeted support strate- gies that promote economic development, job creation and social well-being. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Female entrepreneurshipGendered perceptions of SSE conditionsInclusive business modelsSocial and solidarity economy (SSE)Sustainable developmentjournal article10.1111/apce.124971467-8292open access