Self-employment designed for and by the family? Mompreneurs and the “auto-entrepreneur” regime

Through a research combining quantitative datas and interviews, this article aims at discussing the effects of the sole-trader device through a specific public: the Mompreneurs. Gathered in particular organizations in France, Mompreneurs define themselves as women who created their own independent business after having a child. Among them, many use this recent device that is supposed to generalize individual economic initiative. The way gender may impact these paths will be particularly explored, as they surprisingly seem to mix the more risky self-employment with the stronger needs for protection that maternity engenders.