Causes of the gender divide within entrepreneurship ecosystems

Autor: Yasuyuki Motoyama, Karren Kimberly Knowlton, Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, Susan Clark Muntean
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit. 36:187-204
ISSN: 1470-9325
0269-0942
DOI: 10.1177/0269094221995783
Popis: Knowledge about connections within a local economic system holds implication for understanding the ways in which individuals and categories of entrepreneurs access the system itself and resources provided within. While scholars have recently found complex divisions of networks within local entrepreneurship ecosystems, we still have a limited understanding about why these chasms exist. We present a case study with qualitative research in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of St. Louis, Missouri, which identifies structural sources of divergence in networks. Specifically, we find a gender gap in the ecosystem that reveals patterns of difference in access to resources and in the experiences of women relative to men entrepreneurs. Thus, we contribute a more nuanced understanding of how discrete elements within a system’s networks diverge, as well as identifying the root causes of this divergence. The article concludes with implications for theories and practice.
Databáze: OpenAIRE