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The weaker sex? A tale of means and tails

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  • Khurana, Indu
  • Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan
  • Audretsch, David B.

Abstract

One of the most commonly held beliefs prevalent in entrepreneurship research is that women-led ventures tend to generate lower earnings than men-led ventures. We contend that this thinking emanates from empirical analyses that obscure the variation in entrepreneurial performance across the earnings distribution. Relying solely on the mean as a measure of central tendency conceals the heterogeneity among so-called underperformers. Using density plots from a nationally representative database, we demonstrate that women-led ventures perform better at some quantiles of the earnings distribution, contrary to the common myth that men-led ventures consistently outperform them. Our study debunks this myth and contributes to entrepreneurship research that adopts a gendered perspective by showing that the reality experienced by women entrepreneurs is not as dismal as it appears when compared to focusing exclusively on the mean. Our study has implications for policymakers, who need to adjust their policy approach by designing targeted policies explicitly incorporating the heterogeneity inherent in entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Khurana, Indu & Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan & Audretsch, David B., 2023. "The weaker sex? A tale of means and tails," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobuve:v:20:y:2023:i:c:s2352673423000367
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2023.e00407
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Healy, John & Hughes, Jeffrey & Donnelly-Cox, Gemma & Shantz, Amanda, 2024. "A long and winding road: The hard graft of scaling social change in complex systems," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    3. Gala, Kaushik & Valladares, Carlos D. & Mueller, Brandon A., 2023. "Students' assumptions of Entrepreneurs’ performance: The paradox of excess entry and missed opportunity," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender; Heterogeneity; Entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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