Abstract
Entrepreneurship and innovation are complex processes which are difficult to grasp and generalize because of the multiple actors involved and the diversity of historical, social, cultural, geographical and institutional contexts in which these processes take place. The aim of this article is to identify the structural processes concerning the exclusion of Brazilian young people and women from innovative employment based on two previous studies conducted by the authors. The questions that are raised are: Do young entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs have any shared social interests that could influence public policies in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation in Brazil? What positions do the two segments occupy in the Brazilian reality? Are there any social processes regarding the reproduction and transformation of social patterns? To answer these questions, this study begins with the debate regarding the changes that have taken place in the world of work that have motivated young people and women to become entrepreneurs. The study then defines important concepts in the literature on entrepreneurship and innovation. This is followed by a discussion of the real socio-economic and cultural conditions for the participation of women and young people in entrepreneurship in Brazil. The results show that both young people and women share conditions of precarity when it comes to being innovative entrepreneurs. To combat this, public policies are required to provide a culture of education to help them overcome the economic, political, institutional and social challenges involved.
Key words: Entrepreneurship, young people and women, public policies.
