Women’s Entrepreneurial Abilities: A Study in the Indian Informal Service Sector

Abstract

Several studies on gender performance reveal that enterprises run by males generally outperform those run by females. This article examines the performance differences between male and female entrepreneurs in the informal service sector in India, using the NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) data. It attempts to understand the nature of female entrepreneurial activity, their pattern, causes and comparability vis-à-vis male entrepreneurship. Performance of male and female entrepreneurs has been compared in terms of efficiency. In the traditional sector although female entrepreneurs are less efficient than their male counterparts, they emerge to be more efficient in the commercial enterprises. An analysis pertaining to the influence of various factors explaining such differences in performance has also been made.

Entrepreneurship and Family Role: A Systematic Review of a Growing Research

“…From this point of view, the cultural dimension is closely related to the "woman" variable and more generally to the "gender issue" because, as several studies have shown (Freytag and Thurik, 2007;Sengupta et al, 2013), behavior is often a consequence of different socio-cultural values that are taught and learned since youth and that last over time, which also applies to entrepreneurial behavior (Hofstede, 2001;Eid, 2006).…”

The influence of perceived management skills and perceived gender discrimination in launch decisions by women entrepreneurs

“…Studies have shown that people who have a high belief in their abilities to manage a business are more likely to have an increased sense of self-worth (Pathak et al 2013). Women's lack of selfconfidence is often a barrier observed in the developing countries and/or countries where women are assessed mainly through a lens of family and household responsibilities (Baughn et al 2006;Sengupta et al 2013;Zeidan and Bahrami 2011). The Moroccan society is strongly divided, as much as a bipolarization between the middle and upper classes and lower classes, with a high level of illiteracy among women in the lower economic strata.…”

Women’s Entrepreneurship, Barriers and Culture: Insights from the United Arab Emirates

“…Although the under-representation of women in entrepreneurship perseveres as a global trend (Al-Dajani & Marlow, 2010;Baughn et al, 2006;Brush, Bruin & Welter, 2009;GEM, 2011;Itani et al, 2011;Jamali, 2009;Sengupta et al, 2013;Verheul et al, 2006) recent statistics suggest that the representation of women in formal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East is the lowest in the world (IFC & McKinsey, 2011). The under-representation of women in entrepreneurship in the UAE attracted the attention of scholars and resulted in a number of empirical studies that attempt to explain it (Erogul & McCrohan, 2008;Goby & Erogul, 2011;Itani et al, 2011;Madichie & Gallant, 2012).…”

“…The Journal of Entrepreneurship,23 , 2 (2014): 289-320 During the past few decades, global attention to female entrepreneurship has developed in line with the prolific increase in the number of female-owned businesses and their contribution to employment creation and economic development in many economies (Baughn, Chua & Neupert, 2006;GEM, 2011;Verheul, Vanstel & Thurik, 2006). Notwithstanding the increase in research on women entrepreneurs in developing countries (Sengupta, Datta & Mondal, 2013;Tlaiss, 2013), much of this interest and attention has been developed in Anglo-Saxon and Nordic countries. Hence, minimal are the studies conducted in the context of the Arab Middle East (AME) 1 region, where women's work is significantly impacted by socio-cultural variables (Al-Dajani & Marlow, 2010).…”

“…The differences in women's entrepreneurial activities between countries are often explained as the outcome of macro national economic differences and cultural values that influence entrepreneurial behaviour (Freytag & Thurik, 2007;Sengupta et al, 2013;Ulhaner & Thurik, 2007;Wennekers, Thurik, van Stel & Noorderhaven, 2007). The macro sociocultural values of each country shape the social and political institutions of a society (Hayton, George & Zahr, 2002) and individuals' behaviour through values that are taught since youth and endure over time, including that of entrepreneurship (Eid, 2006;Hofstede, 2001;Jenssen & Kristiansen, 2004).…”