Shattering the glass ceiling? How the institutional context mitigates the gender gap in entrepreneurship

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the quality of institutional environments influences the gender gap in opportunity entrepreneurship, finding that better institutions help reduce gender disparities.

Contribution

It develops a multi-level model linking feminist and institutional theories to explain gender differences in entrepreneurship across varying institutional contexts.

Findings

Gender gap is larger in low-quality institutional contexts.

High-quality institutions mitigate gender disparities in entrepreneurship.

Empirical evidence supports the model's predictions.

Abstract

We examine how the institutional context affects the relationship between gender and opportunity entrepreneurship. To do this, we develop a multi-level model that connects feminist theory at the micro-level to institutional theory at the macro-level. It is hypothesized that the gender gap in opportunity entrepreneurship is more pronounced in low-quality institutional contexts and less pronounced in high-quality institutional contexts. Using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and regulation data from the economic freedom of the world index (EFW), we test our predictions and find evidence in support of our model. Our findings suggest that, while there is a gender gap in entrepreneurship, these disparities are reduced as the quality of the institutional context improves.