Causes of the gender divide within entrepreneurship ecosystems

Abstract

Knowledge about connections within a local economic system holds implication for understanding the ways in which individuals and categories of entrepreneurs access the system itself and resources provided within. While scholars have recently found complex divisions of networks within local entrepreneurship ecosystems, we still have a limited understanding about why these chasms exist. We present a case study with qualitative research in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of St. Louis, Missouri, which identifies structural sources of divergence in networks. Specifically, we find a gender gap in the ecosystem that reveals patterns of difference in access to resources and in the experiences of women relative to men entrepreneurs. Thus, we contribute a more nuanced understanding of how discrete elements within a system’s networks diverge, as well as identifying the root causes of this divergence. The article concludes with implications for theories and practice.

Women’s entrepreneurial subjectivity under scrutiny: Expert knowledge on gender and entrepreneurship

“…the resources to become an entrepreneur are unequally distributed (Motoyama et al, 2021); there predominates a gender-based occupational segregation that expels women (above all the low-skilled) to less lucrative, more feminized service sectors, such as child care and hairdressing (Tonoyan et al, 2020); family responsibilities are unequally distributed; credit entities and clients also discriminate in the financing of these projects and access to resources (Guzman & Kacperczyk, 2019;Zhang et al, 2020); there are discontinuities in women's careers. These studies, which have brought to light factors that explain this subordination, have highlighted that female entrepreneurs face more problems when accessing and mobilizing the external resources (human, social and financial capital) necessary to start and maintain a company (Welter, 2004).…”

Developing women's business skills and entrepreneurial sustainability through informal entrepreneurship education

“…Various studies (Motoyama et al, 2021;Agarwal et al, 2020;Boldureanu et al, 2020;Stephany, et al, 2017;Uru et al, 2011;Suzana et al, 2014) have established that informal entrepreneurial education is a significant driver of economic growth, job creations, value creation, changing customers' behaviour, and critical in innovation and creativity. However, to the best of the researchers' knowledge, there is a dearth of literature on how informal entrepreneurial activities drive businesswomen's skills and economic sustainability.…”

Inclusive innovation editorial: The promise of inclusive innovation

“…Each article explores a different dimension of Inclusive Innovation, drawing to light factors that can limit its potential and thus open a space for improved practice and policy. Motoyama et al (2021) engage the problem of gender-based exclusion within local entrepreneurial ecosystems. Through a case study of the St Louis (Missouri) metropolitan region, the authors show that local entrepreneurship initiatives reproduce patterns of gender disparity due to differences in access to entrepreneurship resources-not only formal resources but also informal networks within the local ecosystem, which are critical for enabling startup businesses to get established and grow.…”