Industrial districts and women-led SMEs: a literature analysis

This paper investigates how academic literature has addressed the relationship between industrial districts and female entrepreneurship. Industrial districts, long recognized as drivers of SME innovation and growth, represent potential ecosystems for supporting women-led businesses. Using a Structured Literature Review (SLR) of contributions published between 2008 and 2025 in the SCOPUS database, works were classified by research focus, methodology and geographical area to identify patterns and gaps. Most studies highlight barriers faced by female entrepreneurs: limited access to credit, gender stereotypes, family responsibilities and weak networks. A smaller strand emphasizes women’s human capital, including leadership, training and innovation capacity, as a source of competitiveness for SMEs. Few contributions explicitly address the enabling role of industrial districts. Methodologically, research is dominated by quantitative approaches, while qualitative studies provide deeper insight into lived experiences and informal networks. Geographically, studies are concentrated in Asia and Southern Europe, reflecting policy interest in inclusive entrepreneurship and the historical role of districts in Italy and Spain. This review offers an updated mapping of this intersection and calls for more inclusive governance and future research using qualitative and mixed methods.