A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Entrepreneurs’ Gender on their Access to Bank Finance

Malin Malmström (), Barbara Burkhard (), Charlotta Sirén (), Dean Shepherd () and Joakim Wincent ()
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Malin Malmström: Luleå University of Technology
Barbara Burkhard: Aalto University
Charlotta Sirén: University of St.Gallen
Dean Shepherd: The Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
Joakim Wincent: Hanken School of Economics

Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, vol. 192, issue 4, No 8, 803-820

Abstract: Abstract This meta-analysis of 31 studies over 20 years advances our understanding of the gender gap in entrepreneurial bank finance. Findings from previous research on the relationship between entrepreneurs’ gender and bank financing are mixed, which suggests the need to pay particular attention to entrepreneurs’ social context. In this study, we develop a model of how social gender norms explain variation in women entrepreneurs’ (vis-à-vis men entrepreneurs’) access to bank finance. Specifically, we theorize how women’s formal (their nations’ political ideologies) and informal (women’s empowerment) social standing within their societies influence gender discrimination in entrepreneurial bank financing. Consistent with most previous studies, our baseline results show that women entrepreneurs’ business loan applications are rejected to a greater extent than men entrepreneurs’ loan applications. Women entrepreneurs also pay higher interest rates on loans than men entrepreneurs. Further, in societies dominated by a conservative (rather than a liberal) political ideology, the positive relationship between women entrepreneurs and loan interest rates is more positive. Interestingly, gender discrimination in loan rejection and interest rates is magnified in societies with greater women’s empowerment. Taking a social gender-norm perspective, our analysis establishes a gender gap in entrepreneurial bank finance, and we outline an agenda for further research.

Keywords: Gender bias; Entrepreneurial bank finance; Meta-analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05542-6

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