Gender Equalities in Entrepreneurship: How Close, Or Far, Have We Come in Italy?

Abstract

Female entrepreneurship is a relevant phenomenon all around the world. In reference to Italy, there has been a growing involvement of women in the creation of start-ups only over the last decades. However, from an extensive literature review, it results that there are no relevant studies aiming to test the main differences between male and female Italian entrepreneurs, especially in reference to the levers affecting their propensity to launch new start-ups. The present paper tries to reduce this gap by testing whether male and female Italian entrepreneurs differ in terms of intellectual capital affecting their propensity to launch new start-ups. The sample used for the present research derives from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor – GEM website, refers to 2013 and comprehends 1,055 female and 997 male entrepreneurs. Results show that male and female Italian entrepreneurs are more similar than expected. Some reflections about the state-of-the-art of female entrepreneurship in Italy and some hints for future research are included in the last section of the paper.