Skip to main content
Log in

Entrepreneurial Women and Men: Two Different Species?

  • Published:
Small Business Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ability of the self-employed to create additional job opportunities is a fundamental concern given the huge increases in public resources targeted at new venture creation in the U.K. and other countries since 1979. This study initially concentrates on identifying differences in the personal and demographic characteristics of women and men in four potential labour market states, namely; unemployment; waged employment; single self-employment, and; job creating self-employment. It then goes on to consider labour market transitions over a four year period between 1991 and 1995. The key findings are firstly that women entrepreneurs are better educated than their male counterparts and secondly that flows into self-employment were considerably higher for men than women. Furthermore, proportionately, three times as many male self-employed in 1991 had gone on to become job creating self-employed by 1995.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Blau, D. M., 1987,‘A Time-Series Analysis of Self-Employment in the United States’, Journal of Political Economy 95(3), 445–467.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. and S. G. Bronars, 1989, ‘Consumer Discrimination and Self-Employment’, Journal of Political Economy 97(3), 581–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brusch, C. G., 1992, ‘Research on Women Business Owners: Past Trends, a New Perspective and Future Directions’, Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice (Summer), 5–30.

  • Carroll, R., D. Holtz-Eakin, M. Rider and H. S. Rosen, 1996, ‘Income Taxes and Entrepreneurs Use of Labour’, Centre for Economic Policy Studies, Working Paper, No. 32.

  • Coates, S. and S. Tennyson, 1992, ‘Labor Market Discrimination, Imperfect Information and Self-Employment’, Oxford Economic Papers 44, 272–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collerette, P. and P. Aubrey, 1990, ‘Socio-economic Evolution of Women Business Owners in Quebec’, Journal of Business Ethics 9(2), 417–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowling, M. and P. Mitchell, 1997, ‘The Evolution of U.K. Self-Employment: A Study of Government Policy and the Role of the Macroeconomy’, Manchester School LXV, 427–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowling, M. and R. Hayward, 2000, Out of Unemployment, Research Centre for Industrial Strategy, Birmingham University.

  • Cowling, M., P. Mitchell and M. P. Taylor, 1997, ‘Job Creators’, SME Working Paper, No. 47.

  • Cressy, R., 1996, ‘Are Business Start-Ups Debt Rationed?’, Economic Journal 106(428), 1253–1270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Datcher, L., 1983, ‘The Impact of Informal Networks on Quit Behaviour’, The Review of Economics and Statistics 65, 491–495.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidsson, P., L. Lindmark and C. Olofsson, 1998, ‘The Extent of Overestimation of Small Firm Job Creation — An Empirical Examination of the Regression Bias’, Small Business Economics 11, 87–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S., J. Haltiwanger and S. Shuh, 1996, ‘Small Business and Job Creation: Dissecting the Myth and Reassessing the Facts’, Small Business Economics 8, 297–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dolton, P. J. and G. H. Makepeace, 1986, ‘Sample Selection and the Male-Female Earnings Differential in the Graduate Labour Market’, Oxford Economic Papers 38, 317–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dolton, P. J. and G. H. Makepeace, 1987, ‘Marital Status, Child Rearing and Earnings Differentials in the Graduate Labour Market’, The Economic Journal 97, 897–921.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Rietz, A. and M. Henrekson, 2000, ‘Testing the Female Underperformance Hypothesis’, Small Business Economics 14, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavron, R., M. Cowling, A. Westall and G. Holtham, 1998, The Entrepreneurial Society, Institute for Public Policy Research.

  • Gill, A. M., 1988, ‘Choice of Employment Status and the Wages of Employees and the Self-Employed: Some Further Evidence’, Journal of Applied Econometrics 3, 229–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, M., 1979, ‘The Wage Effects of Marital Status and Children’, Journal of Human Resources 14, 579–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hisrich, R. and M. O'Brien, 1981, ‘The Woman Entrepreneur from a Business School and a Sociological Perspective’, in K. Vesper (ed.), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research Wellesley, MA: Babson College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holtz-Eakin, D., D. Joulfaian and H. S. Rosen, 1994, ‘Entrepreneurial Decisions and Liquidity Constraints’, Rand Journal of Economics 25(2), 334–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jovanovic, B., 1992, ‘Selection and the Evolution of Industry’, Econometrica 50(3), 649–670.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalleberg, A. and K. Leicht, 1991, ‘Gender and Organizational Performance: Determinants of Small Business Survival and Success’, Academy of Management Journal 34(1), 136–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keeble, D., P. Tyler, G. Brown and J. Lewis, 1992, Business Success in the Countryside: The Performance of Rural Enterprise, London: HMSO. Department of Environment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, I., 1983, ‘Employer Discrimination: Evidence from Self-Employed Workers’, The Review of Economics and Statistics 65, 496–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, H. and A. Shah, 1986, ‘An Empirical Analysis of Self-Employment in the U.K.’, Journal of Applied Econometrics 1, 95–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimers, C. W., 1983, ‘Labor Market Discrimination Against Hispanic and Black Men’, The Review of Economics and Statistics 65, 570–579.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, E., 1991, Entrepreneurs in High Technology: Lessons from MIT and Beyond, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosa, P., S. Carter and D. Hamilton, 1996, ‘Gender as a Determinant of Small Business Performance: Insights from a British Study’, Small Business Economics 8, 463–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sowell, I., 1981, Markets and Minorities, New York: Basic Books Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M. P., 1996, ‘Earnings, Independence or Unemployment: Why Become Self-Employed?’, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 58(2), 253–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M. F. (ed.), J. Brice, N. Buck and E. Prentice, 1996, British Household Panel Survey User Manual, Volumes A and B, Colchester: University of Essex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westhead, P. and D. Storey, 1994, An Assessment of Firms Located On and Off Science Parks in the United Kingdom, London: HMSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westhead, P. and M. Cowling, 1995, ‘Employment Change in Independent, Owner-managed High Technology Firms in Great Britain’, Small Business Economics 7(2), 111–140.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cowling, M., Taylor, M. Entrepreneurial Women and Men: Two Different Species?. Small Business Economics 16, 167–175 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011195516912

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011195516912

Keywords

Navigation