Evolving Female Entrepreneurship in the 20th Century and Beyond

From Housewife to CEO

During this NIAS Talk we explore how female entrepreneurship has evolved in the 20th century in the Netherlands. By weaving philosophical, historical and contemporary experiences together, we explore the past and present of female entrepreneurship.

At the entrance you are requested to show your coronavirus pass.

This event can also be attended online.

Worldwide more and more women are actively taking part in business, some climbing up to be CEO’s of big companies and others as independent female entrepreneurs. It’s a sign of changing attitudes towards women’s role in society, and a move away from women as cheerful housewives to emancipated and independent human beings.

When we look back at the last century, different developments influenced what kind of roles were deemed ‘appropriate’ for women and how they took part in the labour market. Especially entrepreneurship has not always been associated with women. On the contrary, being an entrepreneur is often equated with the successful, risk-taking young man, eager to seize opportunities with his start-up.

During this NIAS Talk we explore how female entrepreneurship has evolved in the 20th century. What kind of female entrepreneurship can we find in the past and present? Which factors explain how this has changed over time? Can we learn from the past on how to support today’s female entrepreneurs? We will discuss this with Selin Dilli, historian and upcoming NIAS fellow (Gak Instituut).

About the speakers

Selin Dilli is Assistant Professor of Economic and Social History at University Utrecht. From February 2022 she will be NIAS Fellow, supported by Gak Instituut where she will work on a case study on the evolution of Dutch female entrepreneurship in the 20th century.

Kirsten van den Hul is a former Member of Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party, where she was responsible for, among other things, Education, Gender Equality, Media and Development. She is the writer of several books, including (S)hevolution. De eeuw van de vrouw.

Josephine Keuter studied English and Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam and Leiden. For her MA dissertation she analysed the ways in which American reality series as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real Housewives play with notions of capitalism, feminism, and the male gaze. Before, she worked at publishing house De Bezige Bij, at the moment in a bookstore.

Zará Kars (moderator) is a public historian and works as programmemaker at NIAS-KNAW.

More speakers to be announced.