This research examines the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in the context of entrepreneurial financing in France. It explores the factors that allow some women entrepreneurs to access certain categories of external finance more easily. The theoretical framework used is based on the concept of empowerment, explored through its personal and relational dimensions. The study relies on a quantitative approach, using data from a representative of women entrepreneurs. The results show that the status of a founder affects access to external finance in different ways: it increases the chances of successful fundraising, but reduces the chances of obtaining bank finance. This finding highlights the importance of empowerment dynamics, which vary according to the type of financing. In addition, characteristics such as the presence of a spouse in the business, high income, membership of a professional network and the diversity of this network complete the analysis of inequalities in access. This study, the first of its kind in France, suggests ways of enriching our understanding of the diversity of situations experienced by female founders, thus helping to deconstruct the homogeneous image of women's entrepreneurship.

Small business owners (SBOs), specially women, face several challenges in everyday life, especially when asking for microcredit loans from financial institutions. Usual difficulties include low credit scores, unbaked situations, outstanding debts, informal employment situations, inability to showcase their payable capacity, and lack of financial guarantor. Moreover, SBOs often need help applying for microcredit loans due to the lack of information on how to proceed. The task of asking for a loan is a complex practice, and asymmetric power relationships might emerge, but that benefits micro-entrepreneurs only sometimes. In this paper, we interviewed 20 women entrepreneurs living in a low-income community in Brazil. We wanted to unveil value tensions derived from this practice that might influence the design of AI technologies for the public. In doing so, we used a conversational system as a probe to understand the opportunities for empowering their practices with the support of AI multimedia conversational systems. We derived seven recommendations for designing AI systems for evaluating micro-business health in low-income communities.

This paper presents initiatives aimed at fostering female involvement in the realm of computing and endeavoring to inspire more women to pursue careers in these fields. The Meninas++ Project coordinates activities at both the high school and higher education levels, facilitating dialogue between young women and computing professionals, and promoting female role models within the field. Our study demonstrated the significant impact of these activities on inspiring, empowering, and retaining female students in computing. Furthermore, higher education initiatives have fostered engagement among both women and men, promoting inclusivity, entrepreneurship, and collaboration to enhance women's representation in the computing field.