1. Introduction2. Familiocracy in the Greek business elite class: Endogamy and other cultural traits3. Women and economic input in independent Greece (19th to early 20th centuries)4. Gendered Entrepreneurship and Cottage Industry of the Greek-speaking communities in the Ottoman Balkans5. Women’s path to economic autonomy in Italy6. Rural women’s economic contribution to agricultural work in Southern Europe 7. Female Entrepreneurship and Guilds in Southern Europe8. Gendered prejudices and the economic setting in Romania and Bulgaria9. Conclusions