Does gender equality bridge or buffer the entrepreneurship gender gap? A cross-country investigation

Abstract

PurposeGender equality levels opportunities for men and women and reduces the initial capital constraints women often face, and yet as entrepreneurship opportunities for women open up in more developed and egalitarian societies, fewer women are choosing entrepreneurship. This paper explores this contradiction as it relates to female economic and political participation in the context of business regulation efficiency.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on panel data from 89 countries from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey and the Global Gender Gap report, we use random effects regression to examine relationships. Analyses included 252 country-years, and all data used during analyses were at the country level.FindingsResults suggest that equality in economic participation narrows and political participation widens the entrepreneurship gender gap, but a country's business regulation efficiency moderates both relationships negatively.Research limitations/implicationsThis study does not distinguish opportunity- and necessity-driven entrepreneurship, and does not consider the survival rates of enterprises and their industries.Practical implicationsFindings are pertinent to policymakers interested in advancing female entrepreneurship. They also apply to female entrepreneurs who must begin to recognize the diversity in work-life preferences among women and men.Originality/valueA theoretical model is informed by two competing theories, suggesting that in the context of female entrepreneurship, removal of economic and political participation barriers, combined with business regulation efficiency, intensifies the entrepreneurship gender gap.