From safe spaces to brave spaces: how women's entrepreneurship programs shape identity but not legitimacy

Abstract Despite the rapid growth of Women’s Entrepreneurship Education Programs (WEEPs), their long-term impact on women’s entrepreneurial trajectories remains contested. Drawing on 44 in-depth interviews with participants and program managers across twelve WEEPs in the German-speaking region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), we employ the framework of possible selves to analyze how these programs shape identity development, confidence, and ecosystem integration. Our findings show that WEEPs are highly effective in creating safe spaces that foster trust, role modeling, and early-stage learning. Yet their transformative potential is limited when these safe spaces remain disconnected from the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem. We argue that “brave spaces” must not be equated with existing male-dominated environments, but instead actively co-created as inclusive arenas where systemic barriers can be addressed collectively. By conceptualizing WEEPs as identity spaces that balance emotional safety with strategic exposure, this study advances understanding of how entrepreneurship education can move beyond short-term empowerment toward structural change in entrepreneurial ecosystems.