Gender Gap In Entrepreneurship Research Articles

Personality and the gender gap in self-employment: a multi-nation study.

What role does personality play in the pervasive gender gap in entrepreneurship across the globe? This two-study analysis focuses on self-employment in the working population and underlying gender differences in personality characteristics, thereby considering both single trait dimensions as well as a holistic, configural personality approach. Applying the five-factor model of personality, Study 1, our main study, investigates mediation models in the prediction of self-employment status utilizing self-reported personality data from large-scaled longitudinal datasets collected in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., and Australia (total N = 28,762). Study 2 analyzes (observer-rated) Big Five data collected in 51 cultures (total N = 12,156) to take a more global perspective and to explore the pancultural universality of gender differences in entrepreneurial personality characteristics. Across the four countries investigated in Study 1, none of the major five dimension of personality turned out as a consistent and robust mediator. In contrast, the holistic, configural approach yielded consistent and robust mediation results. Across the four countries, males scored higher on an entrepreneurship-prone personality profile, which in turn predicted self-employment status. These results suggest that gender differences in the intra-individual configuration of personality traits contribute to the gender gap in entrepreneurship across the globe. With the restriction of limited representativeness, the data from Study 2 suggest that the gender difference in the entrepreneurship-prone personality profile (males score higher) is widespread across many cultures, but may not exist in all. The results are discussed with an emphasis on implications for research and practice, which a particular focus on the need for more complex models that incorporate the role of personality.

The Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Not just a Matter of Personality

Why do entrepreneurship rates differ so markedly by gender? Using data from a large representative German household panel, we investigate to what extent personality traits, human capital, and the employment history influence the start-up decision and can explain the gender gap in entrepreneurship. Applying a decomposition analysis, we observe that the higher risk aversion among women explains a large share of the entrepreneurial gender gap. We also find an education effect contributing to the gender difference. In contrast, the Big Five model and the current employment state have effects in the opposite direction, meaning that the gender gap in entrepreneurial entry would be even larger if women had the same scores and the same employment status as men. (JEL codes: L26, J16, D81, J24, M13).

Bridging the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Europe

There is no gender difference between success in establishing a business once both males and females have the same preference to self-employment and attempts towards establishing a new business. However, the gender gap tends to be huge when it comes to individual preferences and attempts to start up an entrepreneurial activity. In this study, we empirically estimate the role of inequality in individual and country attributes between man and woman in the bridging this gender entrepreneurship gap. Using Oaxaca-type decomposition and its extensions on choice of weighting matrix for non-linear probability models, we found that differences in both individual as well as country characteristics largely favor males, while the former play greater role in explaining the gender gap. About a one third of the gender gap in both latent as well as nascent entrepreneurship can be traced back to females owning smaller endowments than males. Empirical results also show differences in return to measured characteristics favor males. Nevertheless, a portion of gender gap that is unexplained by the differences in these characteristics and their coefficients (or return) could still indicate gender discrimination.

Investors prefer entrepreneurial ventures pitched by attractive men

Entrepreneurship is a central path to job creation, economic growth, and prosperity. In the earliest stages of start-up business creation, the matching of entrepreneurial ventures to investors is critically important. The entrepreneur's business proposition and previous experience are regarded as the main criteria for investment decisions. Our research, however, documents other critical criteria that investors use to make these decisions: the gender and physical attractiveness of the entrepreneurs themselves. Across a field setting (three entrepreneurial pitch competitions in the United States) and two experiments, we identify a profound and consistent gender gap in entrepreneur persuasiveness. Investors prefer pitches presented by male entrepreneurs compared with pitches made by female entrepreneurs, even when the content of the pitch is the same. This effect is moderated by male physical attractiveness: attractive males were particularly persuasive, whereas physical attractiveness did not matter among female entrepreneurs.

Aggregate Costs of Gender Gaps in the Labor Market: A Quantitative Estimate

This paper examines the quantitative effects of gender gaps in entrepreneurship and labor force participation on aggregate productivity and income per capita. We simulate an occupational choice model with heterogeneous agents in entrepreneurial ability, where agents choose to be workers, self-employed or employers. The model assumes that men and women have the same talent distribution, but we impose several frictions on women's opportunities and pay in the labor market. In particular, we restrict the fraction of women participating in the labor market. Moreover, we limit the number of women who can work as employers or as self-employed and, finally, women who become workers receive a lower wage. Our model shows that gender gaps in entrepreneurship and in female workers' pay affect aggregate productivity negatively, while gender gaps in labor force participation reduce income per capita. Specifically, if all women are excluded from entrepreneurship, average output per worker drops by almost 12% because the average talent of entrepreneurs falls down, while if all women are excluded from the labor force income per capita is reduced by almost 40%. In the cross-country analysis, we find that gender gaps and their implied income losses differ importantly across geographical regions, with a total income loss of 27% in Middle East and North Africa and a 10% loss in Europe.

The Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Not Just a Matter of Personality

Why do entrepreneurship rates differ so markedly by gender? Using data from a large, representative German household panel, we investigate to what extent personality traits, human capital, and the employment history influence the start-up decision and can explain the gender gap in entrepreneurship. Applying a decomposition analysis, we observe that the higher risk aversion among women explains a large share of the entrepreneurial gender gap. We also find an education effect contributing to the gender difference. In contrast, the Big Five model and the current employment state have effects in the opposite direction, meaning that the gender gap in entrepreneurial entry would be even larger if women had the same scores and the same employment status as men.

Gender Differences in Human Capital and Personality Traits as Drivers of Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

Gender Differences in Human Capital and Personality Traits as Drivers of Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

The gender Gap in Entrepreneurship and the Big Five Traits: A three- Country Analysis

The role of personality in the gender gap in entrepreneurship is poorly understood. We study mediation models in the prediction of self-employment status using longitudinal data collected from nati...

Quadruple Helix as a Way to Bridge the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: The Case of an Innovation System Project in the Baltic Sea Region

In most developed economies there exist a clear gap between men and women in terms of prevalence of entrepreneurial activity. The gender gap can be traced back to the general perceptions of gender in society, where entrepreneurial venturing is culturally defined as a masculine activity. In this paper, we analyse how such gendered norms are brought into Triple Helix innovation system models, and identify roles and challenges of NGOs in the alternative conceptualization of Quadruple Helix. Based on an exploratory case study of a Quadruple Helix innovation system project in the tourism industry, we find that NGOs may fill four roles in bridging the gender gap: (1) collaborative platforms for women-led SMEs, (2) legitimating and linking women-led SMEs to governmental and academic actors, (3) developing competences and process innovations related to entrepreneurial venturing outside traditional Triple Helix constellations and (4) carrying individual and societal aspects of entrepreneuring.

Female entrepreneurship in China: opportunity- or necessity-based?

The paper investigates the inequalities within entrepreneurship which are hindering Chinese socio-economic development. We take an institutionalist and gender-based approach. We establish the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development and create a historical framework from which we examine contemporary female entrepreneurship. We find that females in China often engage in entrepreneurship in the informal sector, where average income is lower. Females are more likely than men to engage in necessity-based entrepreneurship rather than opportunity-based entrepreneurship in China. Therefore, the overall increase in female entrepreneurship in China in recent years does not necessarily imply improvement in living standards for those women. The paper demonstrates that different classes of entrepreneurs face different barriers, and that females need targeted assistance so that the gender gap in entrepreneurship can be reduced. Government should take responsibility for deconstructing social and cultural barriers to women through policy initiatives, as well as promoting women’s entrepreneurial training and capital formation. There is also a key role for the non-governmental sector and international organisations to play in educating government, businesses, and workers, as well as pressuring and/or coordinating them where needed.

Gender and Entrepreneurship as a Career Choice

The gender gap in entrepreneurship has typically been understood through women’s structural disadvantages in acquiring the resources relevant for successful business ownership. This study builds on resource-based approaches to investigate how cultural beliefs about gender influence the process by which individuals initially come to identify entrepreneurship as a viable labor-market option. Drawing on status characteristics theory, this study evaluates (1) how cultural beliefs about gender and entrepreneurship influence self-assessments of entrepreneurial ability, and (2) the extent to which such assessments account for the gender gap in business start-ups. Results suggest that women are significantly less likely to perceive themselves as able to be an entrepreneur and they hold themselves to a stricter standard of competence when compared to similarly situated men. This gender difference in self-assessments accounts for a significant portion of the gender gap in entrepreneurship after controlling for relevant resources. Additional analyses reveal that significant gender differences in self-assessed ability persist among established business owners.

How female entrepreneurs learn and acquire (business-relevant) knowledge

There is still a gender gap in entrepreneurship, with only 30% of all business founders being women. One important question in this regard concerns how female entrepreneurs learn and acquire business-relevant knowledge. Individual learning processes are affected by individual sense making and cognitions, implying that amongst the other factors at the individual and environmental levels, gender is a factor influencing entrepreneurial learning. However, a gender perspective has been neglected in recent research on entrepreneurial learning and opportunity recognition. The paper concentrates on conceptually and empirically introducing this gender perspective. We explore the main influences on the entrepreneurial learning of female entrepreneurs and the determinants and triggers that impact female learning. Regarding the implications for entrepreneurship research, we hope to contribute to the understanding of what constitutes the specificities of female entrepreneurship in the frame of entrepreneurial learning and opportunity recognition.

Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship

The article considers a significant global issue – gender gap starting and developing own business. The field of business was for a long time reserved to men, thus, despite of an increasing number of female entrepreneurs during last decade, the number of female entrepreneurs in Europe, including Lithuania, remains lower than the one of male entrepreneurs. According to the data of various statistical sources, an average ratio of enterprises newly established by men and women in EU countries is about 70% and 30% (European Economic and Social Committee, 2007). Especially in developing countries where gender stereotypes formed through long decades (women’s main role is to be wife and mother) are treated as one of the most important obstacles preventing women to start their own business. Business development, achievements in work environment such as successful carrier, increased personal influence and prestige in society, in contrast with simple job, require conditionally great personal commitment which according to various sources of literature (Nordic Innovation Centre (2007); M. Minniti (2003); P. Tominc, M. Rebernik (2006)) is more acceptable to men than women. Moreover, it is supposed that own business often puts to shade personal private life; therefore it is more associated to men than women. Going deep into the field was also encouraged by the discovery that the analysed literature lacks more detailed discussion of factors that determine the emergence of gender gap in perspective of business establishment. Scientists point out various factors, attach them to various groups, however, little attention is paid to the impact of those factors to existing gender gap. At present, literature does not have an answer to such questions as: “Why do differences exist?“, “What causes them?“. The aim of the article – to determine differences of gender gap in entrepreneurship – is to review the reasons provided in literature explaining the emergence of gender gap when starting own business, to analyse and point out the factors which positively or negatively influence the behaviour of men and women in business and also, on the grounds of expert evaluation, to perform a comparative study of gender gap in entrepreneurship in Lithuania. Having performed an analysis of scientific literature, the conclusion was made that the theories of feminism and discrimination, changes of demographic factors, different value systems and various other factors best explain the prevailing gender differences between men and women. In order to systemise different factors influencing gender gap, the article provides such factor groups as cultural, organisational, economic, demographic, psychological, technological, institutional and political factors. Also the factors that influence the differences of men and women in business in three ways (increase, decrease and neutral) are excluded. Having completed a comparative analysis of gender differences in entrepreneurship, the conclusion was made that the gender differences discussed and analysed in literature are relevant also to Lithuanian entrepreneurs. An expert survey revealed that enterprises managed by men are bigger, exist longer than the ones managed by women; however, the fields of business establishment of both men and women are very similar. It is important to note that the theory emphasises different value systems of genders in obvious practise.

What a Difference a Y Makes: Female and Male Nascent Entrepreneurs in Germany

In western industrialized countries men are on average more than twice as active in entrepreneurship as women. Based on data from a recent representative survey of the adult population in Germany this paper uses an empirical model for the decision to become selfemployed to test for differences between women and men in the ceteris paribus impact of several characteristics and attitudes, taking the rare events nature of becoming an entrepreneur into account. Furthermore, a non-parametric approach using Mahalanobisdistance matching of man and woman which are as similar as possible in all characteristics and attitudes but the small difference is used to investigate the difference in the propensity to become self-employed by gender. A core finding is that the difference between men and women in both the extent and the effect of considering fear of failure to be a reason not to start one's own business is important for the explanation of the gender gap in entrepreneurship.

Gender Inequalities and Economic Growth: A Longitudinal Evaluation

This longitudinal evaluation of gender inequalities and economic growth addresses key questions in the evolving debate over the character of gender differentiation and the goals of womens empowerment. These questions include: 1) whether the impact of strategies of economic growth served to enhance or undermine the status of women; 2) whether changes in the status of women were accompanied by significant changes in gender inequality; and 3) the implications for existing debates. Section I reviews several sets of literature pertinent to the questions using three general approaches: modernization-neoclassical women in development and gender and development. Section II presents the data and methods used in the evaluation. The research assessed the contending interpretations reviewed in the first section by combining another set of cross-sectional and longitudinal data on womens status and inequalities between men and women with other existing indicators. Section III discusses the results in the following order: 1) cross-sectional patterns in womens status; 2) trends in womens status; 3) cross-sectional patterns in inequality between men and women; 4) trends in inequality between men and women; and 5) conclusion. Finally section IV presents an overall discussion of the findings of the whole longitudinal evaluation.