HOW DOES THE LACK OF FUNDING AND NETWORK SUPPORT FOR FEMALE FOUNDERS CREATE A GENDER DISPARITY IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship drives the economy - it entails the process of individuals i.e., entrepreneurs creating a new business or product and bringing innovation to the market. Whilst entrepreneurship has been defined numerous times in the literature, no one definition suggests a gender specification for what may be deemed as a successful entrepreneur. However, unfortunately, over the years, as a result of many societal biases and stereotypes, a common misconception has been created wherein it is assumed that only male founders have the necessary skills to be successful at entrepreneurship. Regardless of this not being true, it has unfortunately impacted the ability for female founders to successfully become entrepreneurs. Two of the most prominent ways in which this has happened is the lack of availability for financing for female founded companies as well as the lack of a strong female founder network. These aforementioned factors ultimately restrict the ability for female founders to successfully become entrepreneurs. This paper aims to analyze the existing literature to explain the potential reasons for this gender disparity in entrepreneurship and conclude by presenting potential suggestions for female entrepreneurs to overcome these.