CIRIEC-International is calling for participation in a new thematic research working group on Gender and Social Economy (2026–2028), an initiative coordinated by Professor Carmen Marcuello from the University of Zaragoza, President of the Scientific Commission on Social and Cooperative Economy of CIRIEC-International; Professor Marie J. Bouchard from the University of Quebec in Montreal (Canada); and Professor Juan Fernando Álvarez from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá (Colombia).
The new working group represents an opportunity to advance research and public policies in the field of the social economy through a gender-sensitive perspective. The project invites academics and experts to contribute to the working group, for which proposals can be submitted until 15 April 2026 in English, French or Spanish (see call for applications).
CIRIEC encourages those wishing to participate to complete the following online questionnaire in order to indicate their interests and areas of expertise:
Background and new phase
The new working group builds on the one launched in 2022 by CIRIEC-International and the Ibero-American Observatory OIBESCOOP to analyse the social economy from a gender perspective. This working group resulted in several relevant scientific publications, namely:
- Marcuello, Carmen; Barragán, María Carmen; Navarro, Eliane & Álvarez, Juan Fernando (Eds.) (2022): Mujeres, Cooperativismo y Economía Social y Solidaria en Iberoamérica, OIBESCOOP. https://www.oibescoop.org/wp-content/uploads/Mujeres-Coop-y-ESS.pdf
- Bouchard, Marie J.; Marcuello, Carmen & Álvarez, Juan Fernando (2023): Economía Social y Solidaria y Género. Una mirada desde Iberoamérica, OIBESCOOP, CIRIEC-International, https://www.oibescoop.org/wp-content/uploads/ES-y-Solidaria-y-Genero.pdf
- Project: Castro, Belén (Dir.) (2023): Mujeres, Cooperativismo y Economía Social y Solidaria. Contribución a una Participación Igualitaria en la Economía y la Sociedad.
- Monographic issue “Gender and Social Economy” (2024): CIRIEC-Spain, Journal of Public, Social and Cooperative Economy, 111, https://ciriec-revistaeconomia.es/es/revista/?num=5003
- Arando, Saioa; Elio, Eunate & Marcuello, Carmen (2025): “Gender Perspective in the Social Economy and Cooperativism: Towards a Transformative Research Agenda”, CIRIEC-Spain, Journal of Public, Social and Cooperative Economy, 114, 325–358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7203/CIRIEC-E.114.30344
- Special Issue, “Gender and Social Economy” (2025), Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Vol. 96 (4), December 2025. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14678292/2025/96/4
Based on the theoretical and empirical advances presented in these works, and particularly on the analysis developed by Arando, Elio and Marcuello (2025), four lines of work have been identified to guide the new phase of the research group for the period 2026–2028. These lines are:
- Critical review of the foundational thinking of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) from a feminist perspective.
- Review and incorporate an intersectional theoretical approach, examining how overlapping systemic inequalities (gender, ethnicity, social group, disability, etc.) manifest.
- Improve data collection and analysis, with gender-disaggregated data and beyond productivist metrics.
- Sectoral and territorial analysis, both from a comparative perspective and a specific one in sectors of particular interest (areas such as care, digitalisation, agroecology, energy, etc.).
The work will follow a progressive timeline from 2026 to 2028, combining online seminars, in-person meetings, and the production of research outputs, with planned dissemination through international conferences and several academic publications.
