NIAS Talk x Maand van de Geschiedenis From housewife to CEO – Female Entrepeneurship in the 20th century and beyond

About the programme

Worldwide more and more women are actively taking part business, some climbing up to be CEO’s of big companies and others as independent female entrepreneurs. It’s a sign of changing attitudes on 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 have influenced what kind of roles were deemed ‘appropriate’ for women and how they took part in the labour market. Especially entrepeneurship has not been something always associated with women. On the contrary, being an entrepreneur is often associated with successful, risk-taking young men with start-ups, eager to seize opportunities.

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

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 entrepeneurship in the 20^th century.

Kirsten van den Hul is former member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for political party Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA). She is the writer of (S)hevolution. De eeuw van de vrouw.

Zará Kars (moderator) is public historian and programmemaker at NIAS.

More speakers to be announced.

About Maand van de Geschiedenis

During the annual National History Month different cultural organisations and libraries organise events and exhibitions central to a specific theme. This year’s theme is ‘Get to work’.

Registration & SPUI25

This event takes place at SPUI25. You can register for online or in-person attendance via the button in the left upper corner of this page. Please make sure to bring you QR-code and identification to the venue when attending on site.