Entrepreneurship and Gender-Related Issues:.
This literature review examined the differences between male and female entrepreneurs and small business owners, concentrating on five selected topics: differences in motivations for small-business start-ups, discrepancy in education and managerial skills among genders, differences in leadership styles, gender and industry choice, and organizational performance. The review examined a number of articles from scholarly business journals. There were differences in industry selection, amount and quality of managerial experience, family obligations, and income discrepancy. Despite these differences, women were not any less successful than men in managing a small business. Gender played a minor role in leadership styles, education, and motivations. It did not, however, determine the degree of business success.
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Introduction.
While ownership of small businesses has been predominantly male over the course of history, the last half of the 20th century demonstrated a remarkable increase in the number of female entrepreneurs. This great influx of women into small-business ownership has spurred numerous studies on gender-related issues, including but not limited to leadership styles, motivations, success and survival rates, organizational performance, and income disparities. As the studies produced dissimilar results over the years, this paper will present analysis of these studies, as well as their findings in an attempt to draw a general conclusion whether gender makes a difference in issues related to entrepreneurship and small-business ownership.
As the number of gender-related topics related to entrepreneurship is theoretically unlimited, this paper will address the following six issues:.
1. Differences in motivations for small-business start-ups.
2. Discrepancy in education and managerial skills among genders.
3. Differences in leadership styles.
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