Promoting Female Entrepreneurship: The Impact of Gender Gap Beliefs and Perceptions

Perceptions and institutional frameworks can be barriers or facilitators to the development of female entrepreneurship policies. Institutions rely on factual data on the gender gap to evaluate their policies. However, the literature shows that the research and institutions should also analyze the impact of social beliefs on the success of these policies and initiatives. This study focuses on the impact of these perceptions in promoting female entrepreneurship. Data were collected from 287 responses to a questionnaire from Spanish women and men and were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis. The results show that the perception of lack of equality increases the gender gap even if there are specific and effective policies in a society that attempt to eliminate the gender gap in terms of the role of women in the home or positions of power. The main result is that these perceptions ultimately affect women’s entrepreneurial intentions. The results have policy implications for companies and public institutions willing to change the gender narrative about entrepreneurship and design policies and initiatives that help women overcome cultural barriers and effectively promote female entrepreneurship.