Role of Gender and Culture on Entrepreneurship

Here is how and why the interplay of gender and culture affects women entrepreneurship.

17:26 20 January 2022

Entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming the new way of absorbing a large number of unemployed youth. Moreover, women entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming the harbor of new jobs; it contributes to social and economic growth of the society as they can get social services such as to buy SoundCloud plays. A survey conducted in 2019 revealed that, around 231 million women launched and or operated businesses in 59 economies. 

 

As reported by the McKinney Global Institute report, if women were to play a similar role to men in entrepreneurship, the global GDP would increase by 26%. This isn’t startling, right? If you look around, be it in developing or developed countries, there are more men in entrepreneurship. But what influences this? Why has it persisted for decades? Though perception of female entrepreneurship may appear positive, whether women succeed or fail in entrepreneurship is continually influenced by gender and culture. 

 

Here is how and why the interplay of gender and culture affects women entrepreneurship.

 

1. Effects of culture on women Entrepreneurship: Family

Complexities brought about by culture are identical though they vary in how they manifest. In your family, who is responsible for the family? Who is responsible for starting a business? Who is the home maker? Though we claim that there is gender equality that is almost unattainable. We can only attain equity. In most cultures, women are not expected to make risky adventures. Risky adventures are to be left for men. This perception has drugged many women into pits and valley bottoms. Why?

 

 Just like male entrepreneurs, there exist marriages in which women are more into risk taking than the man. Women therefore throw themselves into business. They bring up the business and give it the foundation. The challenge now comes when the business has grown as it requires more commitment and dedication. What happens? Women, since they are the homemakers, drag their husbands into the business and allow them to take the driver’s seat. Bringing their risk averse nature into the business, the business makes losses time without number due to poor management.

 

More than any other time, this rendition allows us to think for ourselves. As a family, draw the balance. Allow both of you to venture where they want to. Though challenging, if you are more into family than your wife, allow her to be. This is the right time to create the platform for women entrepreneurs. Social media platforms marketing are skewed towards ladies as they can get to the platforms without spending a dime. 

 

2. Gender and poverty 

When they have income, women invest close to 90% of their income back into their families. What about their male counterparts? The study shows that men only invest 35% of their income into their families. How is this connected to poverty? How is it connected to entrepreneurship? When women can earn better, their children can acquire quality education. In countries where women are restricted from working, the button of poverty continues.

 

 Education has never been of value to entrepreneurship than now. Information has never been this powerful and lagging behind has never been this detrimental. So that many people can get into entrepreneurship, women's education should be given a priority as it accelerates children’s education. Even with this kind of information, there still exist cultures in which women aren’t allowed to go to school. The story of Doctor Terarai Trent perfectly illustrates this. The numbers in the field of entrepreneurship have plummeted. This is bomb. With women entering into entrepreneurship, global GDP will grow exponentially.

 

3. Problem of finance

For any enterprise, finance is a primary factor of production. Women are more disadvantaged when it comes to outsourcing capital. Most setups are patriarchal. This involves bequeathing properties with men. Women are left with nothing to their names even as they move out of their parents’ house. How does this affect entrepreneurship? Women cannot obtain loans from commercial banks since they have no collateral security. This limits access to external funding. Some banks consider women to be less creditworthy. Women entrepreneurs are left to depend on their savings which are not enough at times. Moreover, while forming as a family, women are physically separated from their family members thus do not have an easy time getting loans from them.

 

Though we have made some leaps in bridging disparity in gender, more are yet to be done. Women are still left behind when it comes to entrepreneurship. This not only affects them, it affects the whole world. Let’s all take an initiative of creating a culture which encourages everyone to think for themselves. A culture where everything is measured against authenticity.