Italian women entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic: striving for a collective response through female employer and business membership organizations

The unprecedented crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has affected women’s businesses and their employer and business membership organizations (EBMOs). These associations in Italy are significant for the representation and support that they provide for female entrepreneurs. This chapter aims to explore how the role and actions implemented by Italian female EBMOs to support women’s businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic have changed. We employed a qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews with the Heads of the most relevant female Italian EBMOs. Thematic analysis of the findings revealed that women’s EBMOs offered both technical-instrumental and emotional-psychological support to members during the Coronavirus pandemic. The findings show an adaptation of the actions of Italian female EBMOs to the new requests of women entrepreneurs with appreciable results. Italian women entrepreneurs have shown the ability to respond collectively to the challenges posed by the pandemic through these professional networks.