Popular and Solidarity Economy in Ecuador. Women's empowerment

The objective of this article is to analyze the concept of empowerment for women from different perspectives, in relation to their participation in productive enterprises of the popular and solidarity economy in Ecuador. The research was carried out through a documen-tary analysis of the emergence of the concept of empowerment that has evolved over time according to the different contexts and historical moments, as well as the presentation of the figures of the SEPS Data that indicates the governance of women in this economy. The recog-nition of the popular and solidarity economy in the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador in 2008, as an integral part of the Ecuadorian economic system, has allowed its institution-alization through different institutions and legal instruments, as well as public policies that promote this model of economy, known as the economy of the human face or solidarity, due to its identifying principles that characterize it. One of these principles is gender equity and women actively participate in the different business models, allowing them to enjoy opportu-nities, become leaders, entrepreneurs. Finally, with sufficient theoretical arguments, the anal-ysis of these concepts contributes to studying how the popular and solidarity economy allows women in an excluding labor market to vindicate themselves, by building alternative projects that improve their quality of life. The methodology used in this article is descriptive, based on documentary, literature review, and as a result of the analysis a concept of empowerment for women in the popular and solidarity economy is proposed.