Moving to the Big City: Temporal, Demographic, and Geographic Influences on the Perceptions of Gender-Related Business Acumen among Male and Female Migrant Entrepreneurs in China

Abstract

Do migrant entrepreneurs from rural areas hold more traditional or more egalitarian gender-role perceptions, when immersed in urban areas? The answer to this question affects China’s within-country migrant entrepreneurs, who are increasingly women, because egalitarian gender-role perceptions increase the resources provided to female entrepreneurs by key stakeholders, including other migrant entrepreneurs. Currently, we know little about the gender equity and gender perceptions evidenced at the intersection of two significant trends in China: (1) rural–urban migration and (2) entrepreneurship. To advance our understanding of the gender bias that female migrant entrepreneurs may encounter, we first analyzed business acumen indicators of a nationally and geographically representative sample of 4660 entrepreneurs in China using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data (Study 1). Second, we analyzed differences in gender perceptions regarding female business acumen of 293 migrant entrepreneurs based in Beijing (Study 2). The perceptions of all entrepreneurs in rural areas (Study 1) and of male migrant entrepreneurs who were originally from rural areas (Study 2) are the most consistent with traditional gender-role stereotypes. However, male migrant entrepreneurs’ tenure and interactions in Beijing and all entrepreneurs’ exposure to higher proportions of female entrepreneurs were associated with more egalitarian perceptions. Migrant entrepreneurship in China provides insights into the differential influence of gender and home region socialization on the gender stereotypes and business-related perceptions of those immersed in a location with more egalitarian gender stereotypes.