Gender stereotyping effects on entrepreneurial self‐efficacy and high‐growth entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

Purpose -The number of women choosing entrepreneurship as an occupation continues to grow. However, there are very few start-up high-growth ventures in traditionally non-feminine industries, such as manufacturing or technology. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the potential impact of implicit and explicit gender stereotypes on women's high-growth entrepreneurial intention, and to examine the role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in this process. The authors aim to argue that there is a dual stereotype associated with high-growth entrepreneurship (HGE), which negatively impacts on women's intention and self-efficacy, thereby limiting their behavior in this arena. Design/methodology/approach -This is a conceptual paper. Through the lens of stereotype activation theory the authors call for researchers to begin examining these phenomena and to utilize more generalizable samples of entrepreneurial students in future research. Findings -The paper finds that by decreasing the masculine stereotype-related barriers associated with HGE and increasing women's HGE self-efficacy it should be possible to increase women's intention to engage in high-growth venture creation.Research limitations/implications -The paper has valuable implications for entrepreneurship educators and trainers. Practical implications -The paper offers specific and practical suggestions on how entrepreneurship educators and trainers can build women's entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Originality/value -In this paper, the authors bring together prior theory and research on entrepreneurship, gender stereotyping and social cognitive theory to provide a research agenda on the relationship between stereotype threat, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and high-growth entrepreneurial intention.

How Innovation Encourages Self Efficacy to Support Business Start Up Success?

“…The number of participants are dominant by women this is in accordance with Sweida and Rebecca (2013) research result that discovered the gender role and the negative stereotype has an effect towards self-efficacy while carrying out the entrepreneurship and the women's interest to start a business experienced high growth. The research result is divided into 6 components that match the amount of concept 5+1.…”

Encouraging Female Entrepreneurship in Jordan: Environmental Factors, Obstacles and Challenges

“…Entrepreneurship unfortunately is perceived as an achievement oriented and masculine endeavour (Díaz-García & Jiménez-Moreno, 2010;Sweida & Reichard, 2013). Thus, the common stereotypical view of women clashes against this construct.…”

“…Again, this fact can be related to gender stereotypes. If an activity is generally considered to be male-oriented, women will perceive a lack of such traits and skills necessary to perform it, thus further reinforcing the original gender stereotype (Sweida & Reichard, 2013). For this reason, some scholars have highlighted the effects of gender biases even in education (Mueller & Dato-on, 2010).…”

A Gender integrative conceptualization of entrepreneurship

“…These gender neutralizing interventions are most critical to high-growth entrepreneurship, where Sweida and Reichard (2013) argue women face a dual stereotype: first, specific industries hold embedded masculine stereotypes and second, entrepreneurship itself is highly masculinized. These authors also suggest that, "by decreasing the masculine stereotype -related barriers associated with high-growth entrepreneurship and increasing women's high-growth entrepreneurship self-efficacy, it should be possible to increase women's intention to engage in highgrowth venture creation" (Sweida and Reichard, 2013: 296).…”