Across the Global South, communities are redefining Decent Work, entrepreneurship, and education through cultural frameworks that emphasize empathy, equity, empowerment, and enablement. These four interdependent dimensions are central to both humane entrepreneurship and empowerment-based pedagogy, yet they are typically examined separately in applied psychology. This round table seeks to integrate these strands by drawing on research and practice from Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the United States, offering a culturally grounded exploration of how empowerment is enacted across regions.


The session brings together two complementary perspectives. The first contributes empirical findings from a multi-regional Brazilian study conducted across five culturally distinct areas of the country. Through thematic and lexical analyses of entrepreneurs' narratives, the study identifies how empathy, equity, empowerment, and enablement emerge as foundational principles for business practices aimed at community well-being, relational responsibility, and sustainable development. Regional contrasts highlight variation in how empowerment is understood—ranging from collectivist, relational approaches in the North to more autonomy-driven interpretations in the South—revealing the nuanced cultural meaning systems that underlie humane entrepreneurship in the Global South.


The second presentation expands empowerment concepts into the educational sphere. Drawing on graduate-level instructional design at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the United States and community-based work in Mexico, this approach positions empowerment as both a psychological experience and a structural condition shaped by institutional practices. The model integrates Humanitarian Work Psychology, Decent Work principles, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4, 8, and 10) to cultivate learner agency, cultural humility, collective decision-making, and pathways to dignified work. Pre-post reflections and community partner feedback illustrate measurable gains in students' efficacy, ethical awareness, and cross-cultural competence.


An additional comparative lens highlights how collectivist cultural norms in Latin America and Asia—such as honor, social harmony, and social capital—shape empowerment in ways that differ from individualistic contexts. These patterns underscore that empowerment is fundamentally relational and embedded within collective expectations for mutual responsibility and community well-being.


Taken together, these contributions position the Global South not simply as a site of application but as a source of theoretical innovation in applied psychology. By foregrounding cultural context, relational values, and collective agency, the round table invites scholars and practitioners to re-examine the assumptions embedded in dominant empowerment models and to explore more humane, interdependent, and dignity-affirming approaches to entrepreneurship and education. This session aligns closely with ICAP's theme of "New Directions in Applied Psychology" and highlights novel avenues for integrating Decent Work, empowerment, and Humanitarian Work Psychology across sectors and cultures.