Title: Shattering the glass ceiling? How the institutional context mitigates the gender gap in entrepreneurship,
Abstract: We examine how the institutional context affects the relationship between
gender and opportunity entrepreneurship. To do this, we develop a multi-level
model that connects feminist theory at the micro-level to institutional theory
at the macro-level. It is hypothesized that the gender gap in opportunity
entrepreneurship is more pronounced in low-quality institutional contexts and
less pronounced in high-quality institutional contexts. Using data from the
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and regulation data from the economic
freedom of the world index (EFW), we test our predictions and find evidence in
support of our model. Our findings suggest that, while there is a gender gap in
entrepreneurship, these disparities are reduced as the quality of the
institutional context improves.