Gender Disparities in Students’ Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE) with Various Areas

Abstract

Previous research showed that entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) plays an essential role in the behavior and success of a person’s career in entrepreneurship. On the other hand, various reports also showed that women’s participation in entrepreneurial work is still meager compared to that of men. The research examined differences in ESE and distribution among male and female students in various majors in vocational high schools from a region with a dominant ethnicity, namely, Bugis-Makassar, namely, Makassar City. This research is aimed at determining the differences between male and female students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) from various areas of expertise at vocational high schools in Makassar. This study consisted of 812 students (331 males and 481 females), representing seven areas of expertise. They were selected using a multistage cluster sampling technique from 11 vocational high schools in Makassar, Indonesia. The applied ESE instrument was adapted from the Entrepreneur Self-Efficacy Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential analyses, i.e., MANOVA and independent samples T -test. The results indicated that gender segregation is still high in the distribution of students. Furthermore, the disparity of ESE is found between male and female students in various areas of expertise at vocational high schools.