More than Words: Do Gendered Linguistic Structures Widen the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Activity?

Diana Hechavarria, Siri Terjesen, Pekka Stenholm, Malin Brännback, Stefan Lång

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    45 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Leveraging linguistic relativity theory which suggests that language systems structure thought and action, we investigate the relationship between gendered linguistic structures and the persistent gender gap in early-stage entrepreneurial activity. We use country-level data compiled from 105 countries in 2001-2015 with 55 different languages, and incorporate 32 controls covering a broad range of factors previously associated with entrepreneurial activity. We find that in countries where the dominant language’s structure incorporates sex-based systems and gendered pronouns, there is a greater gap in entrepreneurial activity. Our results suggest that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage women’s entry into entrepreneurship.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)797-817
    Number of pages21
    JournalEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice
    Volume42
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2018
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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