2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 797-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana M. Hechavarría ◽  
Siri A. Terjesen ◽  
Pekka Stenholm ◽  
Malin Brännback ◽  
Stefan Lång

Leveraging linguistic relativity theory which suggests that language systems structure thought and action, we investigate the relationship between gendered linguistic structures and the persistent gender gap in early–stage entrepreneurial activity. We use country–level data from 105 countries in 2001–2015 with 55 different languages, and incorporate 32 controls covering a broad range of factors previously associated with entrepreneurial activity. We find that in countries where the dominant language's structure incorporates sex–based systems and gender–differentiated pronouns, there is a greater gender gap in entrepreneurial activity. Our results suggest that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage women's entry into entrepreneurship.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Villaseca ◽  
Julio Navío-Marco ◽  
Ricardo Gimeno

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand women’s approaches to acquiring financial and other resources is essential for closing the entrepreneurship gender gap. In nearly 40% of economies, women’s early-stage entrepreneurial activity is half or less than half of that of men’s. Design/methodology/approach Even when there is extensive literature on female entrepreneurs, the authors review the findings through a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-1)9 crisis lens, trying to find new perspectives and solutions. With the approach of a systematic review of 4,520 publications on financing topics related to female entrepreneurs, various sources of financing available to female entrepreneurs are considered: bootstrapping, banks, business angels, venture capital and crowdfunding. Findings Identifying potential gender bias both on the supply and the demand side of financing, this research highlights new directions in encouraging female entrepreneurship and gives guidelines to public organisations on how to foster advanced forms of financing for female entrepreneurs in COVID-19 times. Social implications The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge for economies and companies. Female entrepreneurs are the ones who have been hit harder, as they overcome pre-existing barriers, such as lack of access to finance, lack of networks and mentors and gendered priorities, among others. Without ensuring gender policies to counter these incremental negative effects, the authors face the risk of widening the gender gap. Originality/value Regarding previous systematic reviews of literature, this paper focusses on a specific challenge, how women entrepreneurs finance their activity, with a double vision: supply and demand of money.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-49
Author(s):  
Iuliia S. Pinkovetskaia ◽  
Tatiana V. Gromova ◽  
Irina N. Nikitina

AbstractThe analysis of the regularities characterizing the existing rate of female early-stage entrepreneurial activity, as well as the identification of reserves for female entrepreneurship growth is relevant nowadays. The purpose of the work is to assess the rates of entrepreneurial activity of women, their motivational preferences, and comparative analysis of female and male early-stage entrepreneurial activities. The study is based on the economic analysis of the data on 48 countries, presented in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report for 2018. Normal distribution density functions are used in the modeling process. The research reveals features of female entrepreneurship and the barriers to its development. The paper defines countries with high and low values of the considered indicators. The study estimates the existing rates of opportunity and necessity motivation of female entrepreneurs, presents the analysis of the ratio of female to male participation in early-stage entrepreneurial activity, and proves the hypothesis on substantial differentiation of these indicators across countries. The obtained knowledge can be used in future scientific research, in the educational process of bachelors and masters training. The scientific novelty lies in the study of the distribution of indicators characterizing female entrepreneurs’ motivation and the existing gender gap in early-stage entrepreneurship. The study proposes new methods and tools for the analysis and presents a comparative analysis of the development of female and male early-stage entrepreneurship.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4/2021 (94) ◽  
pp. 200-219
Author(s):  
Iuliia Pinkovetskaia ◽  
◽  
Anton Lebedev ◽  
Natalya Rokunova ◽  
Natalya Shamina ◽  
...  

Purpose: The paper is devoted to the actual problem of the existing differences in women’s and men’s entrepreneurship. The aim of the research is to assess the prevailing levels of women’s and men’s participation in entrepreneurial activity in modern national economies. Methodology: The study dealt with the problem of determining indicator values characterizing the early stage of entrepreneurship; mature (sustainable) entrepreneurship, as well as quitting business activities. The results of the surveys conducted in 59 countries throughout the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Project were used as initial information. Findings: In the course of the research, nine indicators characterizing such stages as start-up and sustainable entrepreneurship along with the cessation of this activity were examined. The study developed the functions that show the distribution of the indicators in 59 countries describing women’s and men’s proportions at three main stages of entrepreneurship. Research limitations: The study had limitations on empirical data due to the fact that only 59 countries were considered. Originality: The attained results have indicated that there is a gender gap among the indicators of entrepreneurship in most countries, which means that women participate in it to a smaller extent than men. The methodological approach to assessing gender differences in entrepreneurship presented in the article can be applied in further research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lakshmi Balachandra

Purpose Men founders raise almost 50× more venture capital (VC) than women. As 93 per cent of VCs are men, because of the significant gender imbalance in gatekeepers and investment decision-makers for early-stage capital, there may be critical outcomes for women entrepreneurs who are being caused from men having overweighed in decision-making roles. Outcomes include biases against women by VCs that prevent their ventures from being considered for funding from the pitch as well as obtaining opportunities to pitch VCs in consideration for funding from biases in the evaluations of the businesses themselves. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a consolidation of several studies the author has conducted in VC decision-making and gender bias to understand the drivers of the enormous gender gap in VC funding. The author presented it as a talk at the University of Regina and was asked to submit a paper about it here. Findings The findings reveal how the 93 per cent male context of the VC industry is in itself a significant cause of the gender gap in funding. If there were more women VCs, more women entrepreneurs would be funded. Originality/value The author showcases how the gender gap in decision-making roles in VC has important implications for women entrepreneurs to obtain funding.


Author(s):  
Juan David ROLDAN ACEVEDO ◽  
Ida TELALBASIC

In recent history, different design approaches have been entering fields like management and strategy to improve product development and service delivery. Specifically, entrepreneurship has adopted a user-centric mindset in methodologies like the business canvas model and the value proposition canvas which increases the awareness of the users’ needs when developing solutions. What happens when a service design approach is used to understand the entrepreneurs’ experience through the creation of their startups? Recent literature suggests that entrepreneurial activity and success is conditioned by their local entrepreneurship ecosystem. This study investigates the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem of Medellín, Colombia - an ecosystem in constant growth but that lacks qualitative analysis. The sample consists of 12 entrepreneurs in early-stage phase. The data was gathered with two design research methods: Cultural Probes and Semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the information collected facilitated the development of 4 insights about the entrepreneurs and an experience map to visualise and interpret their journey to create a startup. The results of this study reflected the implications of the ecosystem, the explanation of the users’ perceptions and awareness and propose a set of ideas to the local government to improve the experience of undertaking a startup in Medellín.


Author(s):  
Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt ◽  
Fred Mawunyo Dzanku ◽  
Aida Cuthbert Isinika

Smallholder-friendly messages, albeit not always translated into action, returned strongly to the development agenda over a decade ago. Smallholders’ livelihoods encompass social and economic realities outside agriculture, however, providing opportunities as well as challenges for the smallholder model. While smallholders continue to straddle the farm and non-farm sectors, the notion of leaving agriculture altogether appears hyperbolic, given the persistently high share of income generated from agriculture noted in the Afrint dataset. Trends over the past fifteen years can be broadly described as increasing dynamism accompanied by rising polarization. Positive trends include increased farm sizes, rising grain production, crop diversification, and increased commercialization, while negative trends include stagnation of yields, persistent yield gaps, gendered landholding inequalities, gendered agricultural asset inequalities, growing gendered commercialization inequalities, and an emerging gender gap in cash income. Regional nuances in trends reinforce the need for spatial contextualization of linkages between the farm and non-farm sectors.


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