The Social and solidarity economy in the pursuit of gender equity. Volume I. Work and Gender in the Social and Solidarity Economy

This research book aims to present innovative experiences and the results of research projects developed in Gender Studies and the Social and Solidarity Economy in Latin America and Europe. Concomitantly, it offers a perspective on this topic from the critical positions offered by the social sciences, specifically on the issues of participation and economic opportunities for women.

Networking around gender and the social and solidarity economy in Ibero-America has provided spaces for dialogue not only among academics but also with women in their differences and diversities. These interactions have generated dynamics and innovative proposals from within the territory that contribute to closing gender gaps through their associative practices. This justifies the inclusion of different perspectives on the barriers, conditions, and situations of inequality that persist and that women have been overcoming.

It also raises new questions related to people's work, their participation in social, economic, and political spheres, and the balance of life itself.

This book addresses issues related to women’s participation in public spheres such as entrepreneurship, education, and the service sector, among others. The contribution of empirical evidence on the inequality women face in different contexts is crucial; such evidence is critically presented and analyzed, and innovative experiences are systematized as both differentiating and propositional factors.

Although each chapter presents findings of vital importance from the context analyzed, the horizontal relationships observed in the Social and Solidarity Economy, and the broad participation of women in decision-making scenarios—driven not by a desire to wield power, but by a commitment to community and solidarity work—stand out.

Among the findings, the linkage of care work in different contexts allows for a deeper understanding of the historical recognition of care work assumed by women, as well as its reduction and redistribution among all members of the various social groups.

This work makes a significant contribution by presenting empirical evidence from diverse contexts that converge in the study of gender and are perceived differently within the Social and Solidarity Economy. It highlights the need to include a gender approach in the analysis of power relations in both productive and reproductive processes.