When investigating the impact of personality on start-up success, gender can be an important and differentiating factor.
Start-up Success and Starting a Business
According to the majority of the literature, being a male founder, compared to being female, positively influences start-up growth and success. Other scholars on the other hand note that gender barely affects start-up success, but rather influences the decision in starting a business in the first place. Consequently, women are less likely to start businesses than men.
In comparison, the non-entrepreneurship literature not specifically about start-up contexts states that women achieve higher job performance than men.
Female Gender Stereotypes and Discrimination
Female gender discrimination is the unfair treatment of women based on gender biases. Female founders are often disadvantaged in obtaining respect, support, social networks, funding, and legitimacy compared to their male counterparts. Female founders receive significantly less funding than male founders.
The existence of female gender stereotypes fostering bias and discrimination outside of the start-up context, e.g. hindering female careers, is also validated in non-entrepreneurship research.