Women entrepreneurs in the Gulf States: Taking stock and moving forward

Figures & data

Table

Empirical Setting	Title	Author, Year, Journal	ABS	Methods	Theory/Concept	Key Findings
Kuwait	Capabilities and (Missed) Opportunity for Women’s Entrepreneurship in Kuwait	Langworthy and Warnecke (2020), Journal of Economic Issues	2	N/A	Capabilities	Kuwaiti women have the capabilities needed to become entrepreneurs, yet few women engage in entrepreneurial activity.
Bahrain	The evolution of female entrepreneurship in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the case of Bahrain	Alexandre and Kharabsheh (2019), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	Qualitative: Interview (12)	Institutional Theory	Women entrepreneurs are mainly pulled into entrepreneurship. Male family members with established successful business are used as role models. Challenges are related to the lack of knowledge on how to establish an online business.
Bahrain	‘The royal award goes to … ’ legitimacy processes for female-led family ventures	Hashim, Naldi, and Markowska (2020), Journal of Family Business Strategy	2	Qualitative: Life-story, social media and media archives	Legitimacy-as-perception	Offering a model of how women entrepreneurs establishing a family business can gain influence and legitimacy from evaluators on various levels. Meritocracy is key. The legitimacy process is reciprocal in nature. Royal validity and legitimacy processes can change family norms.
Cross Comparative	The Gendered Complexities of Promoting Female Entrepreneurship in the Gulf	Ennis (2019a), New Political Economy	3	Qualitative: (40) Entrepreneurship initiative directors & academics, (30) interviews (5) focus groups with female entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs	Structural logic of the economy, logic of development narratives & logic of socioeconomic organization	Women entrepreneurs operating in a Gulf State have to deal with competing logics that push them to become actively engaged in the market and confront social forces that pull women toward the domestic domain sphere. These forces can be imposed by both men and women.
Cross Comparative	Business education and entrepreneurial skills: Evidence from Arab universities	Badawi et al. (2019), Journal of Education for Business	Not in ABS	Quantitative: Questionnaire (668/768) students	Entrepreneurial skills in business education	Found a strong effect of education on entrepreneurial attitudes.
Cross Comparative	The impact of gender and culture on networking and venture creation	Kalafatoglu and Mendoza (2017), Cross Cultural & Strategic Management	2	Qualitative: Interviews	Women entrepreneurship Culture, Networking	Women entrepreneurs are restricted by norms and culture that enforce patriarchal systems. Networking is key for women to overcome the challenges of limited access to capital, resources, information about finance and new potential business opportunities.
Cross Comparative	Entrepreneurial motives and their antecedents of men and women in North Africa and the Middle East	Bastian and Zali (2016), Gender in Management: An International Journal	1	Quantitative: Survey (1551)	N/A	Educational attainment has stronger effects on men than on women. Liberal and postmodern values have a significant effect on men in terms of entrepreneurial behaviour.
Cross Comparative	Networks around entrepreneurs: gendering in China and countries around the Persian Gulf	Bertelsen et al. (2017), Gender in Management: An International Journal	1	Quantitative: GEM project 16,365 entrepreneurs from 6 countries	Gendering of Networks, Networks and culture	Women have slightly larger networks in the private sphere than men.
Cross Comparative	Strategic interventions to improve women entrepreneurship in GCC countries	Faisal, Jabeen, and Katsioloudes (2017), Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies	1	N/A	N/A	Women experience different challenges.
Cross Comparative	How Islamic Business Ethics Impact Women Entrepreneurs: Insights from Four Arab Middle Eastern Countries	Tlaiss (2015), Journal Business Ethics	3	Qualitative: Interviews (30)	Institutional Theory	Muslim women entrepreneurs reflect agency by reinterpreting Islamic business ethics. This helps them legitimize their businesses and challenge the conservative interpretation of Islam. In addition, using the Prophet’s wife Khadija as a role model, women entrepreneurs refer to the Prophet himself (p) as a role model. Islamic work-related business ethics seem to have a positive effect on women entrepreneurs. These findings challenge mainstream studies that suggest the religion of Islam hinders women’s success in entrepreneurial activity.
Cross Comparative	Women business owners in the Middle East and North Africa: a five–country research study	Weeks (2009), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	N/A	N/A	Women entrepreneurs operate across different business sectors. Most of them have professional working experience. Many women trade internationally and are growth oriented.
Cross Comparative	‘And now I’m free’: Women’s empowerment and emancipation through entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia and Sweden	Alkhaled and Berglund (2018), Entrepreneurship & Regional Development	3	Qualitative: Life–story	Emancipation and empowerment in women’s entrepreneurship	Participants express their ambition to break free from a subordinating patriarchal order through empowerment within the system and social change. The study suggests that women can overcome subordination via individual empowerment through entrepreneurship or actions within the set system. The study argues that emancipation is distinct from empowerment and can be achieved by encouraging other women to engage in entrepreneurship as a means of collectively changing the social structure.
Cross Comparative	Women entrepreneurship in Middle East: Understanding barriers and use of ICT for entrepreneurship development	Mathew (2010), International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal	1	N/A	N/A	The author claims that ICT can help women overcome different contextual challenges.
KSA	Entrepreneurial ecosystem, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intention in higher education: Evidence from Saudi Arabia	Elnadi and Gheith (2021), International Journal of Management Education	1	Quantitative: Questionnaire (259) undergraduate business students in a public university	Entrepreneurial intention/Entrepreneurial self-efficacy/Entrepreneurial ecosystem	The study finds a positive link between students’ perceptions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem with entrepreneurial intentions. Government support and incentives stimulate students’ entrepreneurial intentions and enhance their self-efficacy. Thus, self-efficacy is not fully intrinsic but can be influenced and shaped by enhancing students’ perceptions of the ecosystem.
KSA	‘To boldly go where no [man] has gone before’-Institutional voids and the development of women’s digital entrepreneurship	McAdam, Crowley, and Harrison (2019), Technological Forecasting and Social Change	3	Qualitative: Case study (6)	Institutional Void/Digital Entrepreneurship	The study suggests that women entrepreneurs use digital technologies to overcome certain contextual voids. Using digital technologies enables them to push institutions to alter certain practices and increases their legitimacy as entrepreneurs. It provides women with the possibility of emancipation from gender stereotypes and weakens the institutional framework. These women are also acting as role models and mentors for other potential female entrepreneurs. Such entrepreneurial actions can lead to changes in formal institutions as well as sociocultural norms.
KSA	Digital girl: cyberfeminism and the emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship in emerging economies	McAdam, Crowley, and Harrison (2020), Small Business Economics	3	Qualitative: Interview (6)	Digital Entrepreneurship, Cyberfeminism & Entrepreneurship as Emancipation	This study suggests that women entrepreneurs draw on technology to turn contextual restrictions into business opportunities. The results indicate that the online environment in this context is not used to ‘escape embodiment’ but to alter lived realities by using the ‘safe space’ offered by digital technologies and challenge social and cultural norms.
KSA	Doing business with impudence: A focus on women entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia	Sadi and Al-Ghazali (2010), Global Journal of Business Management	Not in ABS	Quantitative: Survey (350)	N/A	Self-fulfilment, independence, and profit motives are key motivational factors for women entrepreneurs. Traditional restrictions seem to be the greatest challenge women face. Men however, claim that the greatest challenge for women entrepreneurs is the lack of market studies. Weak formal institutions supporting entrepreneurial activity are also problematic for many women.
KSA	Women’s entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: Feminist solidarity and political activism in disguise?	Alkhaled (2021), Gender, Work & Organization	3	Qualitative: Longitudinal 10 yrs, (16)	Postcolonial feminism/Quiet encroachment/Social nonmovement	Entrepreneurship provides women with a space for feminist solidarity and a legitimate platform to engaging in political change. Women adopt a three‐step approach for move from a single entrepreneurial activity to political activism through entrepreneurship.
KSA	Entrepreneurial motivations among females university youth in Saudi Arabia	Almobaireek and Manolova (2013), Journal of Business Economics and Management	2	Quantitative: Students (856)	Motivation	Both men and women place high importance on the ability to achieve financial success, show creativity, and gain business experience. Notable differences are that women are less likely to start a new venture for achievement, control, or to realize a vision. Instead, women emphasized more independence through venture startup. Female university students were more likely than male students to start an entrepreneurial venture out of necessity, whereas men were more likely to have financial success as their motivation.
KSA	Saudi female innovators as entrepreneurs – theoretical underpinnings	Kemppainen (2019), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	Secondary data: Previous literature	Entrepreneurial Innovation	The history of female participation in the economy is short and the work environment continues to be largely segregated.
KSA	Saudi women entrepreneurs: A growing economic segment	Welsh et al. (2014), Journal of Business Research	3	Quantitative: Questionnaire (235), respondents = 70%	5 Ms	The findings reveal that women are the principal in the majority (55%) of women-owned businesses. A total of 70% of the focal women own more than 51% of their business and 42% started the business by themselves. Saudi Arabian businesswomen are highly educated, receive strong support from family and friends, and rate themselves as excellent in terms of people skills and innovation.
KSA	Female entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: Opportunities and challenges	Danish and Smith (2012), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	Quantitative: Survey (33 out 40)	5 Ms	The proportion of female entrepreneurs who own a business is higher than at any time in the past and this trend is growing. This is despite significant challenges. Family seems to be a positive rather than a negative factor. The motivation to establish a business is largely not that of supplementing household income, important for only one third of respondents.
KSA	Businesswomen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: characteristic, growth patterns and progression in a regional context	Zamberi Ahmad (2011), Equality, diversity and inclusion: An international journal	2	Face-to-face survey: (314)	N/A	Saudi female entrepreneurs are generally confident, educated, optimistic about the future and resourceful. However, they face obstacles, and have an average 11 years of business experience. Main challenges include the regulatory environment, limited access to and use of formal capital and financing mechanisms, the need for increased integration of sophisticated marketing and technology tools into business operations and for a greater availability of support services. The service sector is one of the most typical businesses with sole female ownership.
KSA	Evidence of the characteristics of women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An empirical investigation	Ahmad (2011b), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	Qualitative: Interview (19)	N/A	Women-owned and operated businesses are embedded in both the family and social relations to a greater extent than the literature on women’s entrepreneurship has recognized to date. They engage in service sector businesses with little startup capital. Their motivation for entrepreneurship are mostly pull factors such as flexible working time, the desire for independence and to contribute to society, exploit great market opportunities and providing jobs.
Oman	Barriers to rural women entrepreneurs in Oman	Ghouse et al. (2017), International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research	2	Mixed-methods: Questionnaire (57), Interviews (10)	N/A	The social norms prevalent in Omani rural society mean that women tend to start their enterprises once they are married and generally lack a graduate education. They have limited or no exposure to entrepreneurial or basic business practices and find their way more through experience and trial and error. The study claims that it is important to understand the focal social context, especially the interclan/intertribal culture, since it is the community and religious leaders that facilitate important resources for rural women.
Oman	Entrepreneurial success of cottage-based women entrepreneurs in Oman	Ghouse, McElwee, and Durrah (2019), International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research	2	Mixed-methods: Questionnaire (142), Interview (6)	N/A	Key success factors for women entrepreneurs include their technical skills, use of social media and understanding of markets. Necessary entrepreneurial skills coupled with an ability to challenge social norms that tend to traditionally restrict opportunities for women appear to be important for entrepreneurial success. Women use their own savings and funding from family and friends for their businesses.
Oman	Characteristics, Motivations, and Challenges of Women Entrepreneurs in Oman’s Al-Dhahira Region	Belwal, Belwal, and Al Saidi (2014), Journal of the Middle East Women’s Studies	Not in ABS	Quantitative: Survey	N/A	The needs of balancing work and family life and having a market niche are some key motivation factors. Key challenges are insufficient financial resources and lack of access to external financing
Oman	Students’ perception of entrepreneurship and enterprise education in Oman	Belwal et al. (2015), Education and Training	1	Quantitative: Questionnaire (200), students	Theory of planned behaviour	The majority of students are interested in entrepreneurial activity but do not have the knowledge needed to run a business.
Oman	Women entrepreneurs in Oman: some barriers to success	McElwee and Al-Riyami (2003), Career Development International	2	Qualitative: Interviews (25)	N/A	Identifies economic and sociopolitical challenges that women entrepreneurs face in Oman.
UAE	Is family the key? Exploring the motivation and success factors of female Emirati entrepreneurs	Jabeen, Das, and Katsioloudes (2015),International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business	2	Quantitative: Open-ended questionnaire (244/300)	N/A	Personal goals are the main motivating factors; prioritizing freedom, self-satisfaction, growth and economic necessity (income) are also key factors. The desire for a higher income is not a key motivating factor for women aspiring to become entrepreneurs. Their businesses are funded through personal savings and financial support from family and friends. The family support and the employment of family members were significant contributors to business success.
UAE	Entrepreneurial Intention and UAE Youth: Unique Influencers of Entrepreneurial Intentions in an Emerging Country Context	Al Saiqal et al. (2019), Journal of East-West Business	1	Quantitative: Questionnaire (544) university students	Theory of Planned Behavior, Entrepreneurial Intentions	Identifies the direct influence of attitude and perceived behavioural control and the indirect influence of subjective norms on entrepreneurship intention. This study highlights potential importance of family and social groups in promoting entrepreneurial intentions in this emerging national context.
UAE	Preliminary investigation of Emirati women entrepreneurs in the UAE	Erogul and McCrohan (2008), African Journal of Business Management	Not in ABS	Mixed-methods: Questionnaire and interviews (17)	N/A	The primary motivating factor driving Emirati women to start their own business is a desire to gain control over both their working and personal lives. Women who receive support from their male family members are less inhibited in starting their own business. Women entrepreneurs consider their families important support providers; however, conflicts often occurr between work and family due to time constraints. The participants suggest that the lack of support from male family members could be a significant challenge preventing female Emiratis from starting their own business.
UAE	Entrepreneurial activity and attitude in the United Arab Emirates	Erogul (2014), Innovation: Management, policy & practice	Not in ABS	GEM data	N/A	Government policy may influence entrepreneurial activity and attitude; entrepreneurial readiness can be established through schools and public universities.
UAE	Contextualizing Arab female entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates	Erogul, Rod, and Barragan (2019), Culture and Organization	2	Qualitative: Interview (11)	Gender, identity & networking	Cooperation with men is a viable and complementary means of addressing contextual challenges and achieving empowerment. Women entrepreneurs’ multilayered identity work manifests in a relational manner via efforts to strategically construct opportunity by means of engaging in discursive negotiation with men. Such discursive negotiation and networking are necessary to obtain cooperation and aid from men to navigate cultural stereotypes and practices and conduct business.
UAE	Female entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates: Legislative encouragements and cultural constraints	Goby & Erogul (2011), Women’s Studies International Forum	Not in ABS	N/A	N/A	The findings concern the following: (1) the legislative attempts to enhance female entrepreneurial achievement; (2) the sociocultural realities constraining women in business ventures; (3) the impact of the UAE’s strongly collectivist culture on business networking among women; and (4) UAE women’s motivation for entrepreneurial endeavours given the abundant options for more secure employment.
UAE	Is family the key? Exploring the motivation and success factors of female Emirati entrepreneurs.	Jabeen, Das, and Katsioloudes (2015), International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business	2	Qualitative: Questionnaire (224), response rate = 75%	N/A	Family is one important, but not the main motivating factor. Family support and the contribution of family members to the business are important for business success.
UAE	Entrepreneurial mindset and the role of universities as strategic drivers of entrepreneurship	Jabeen, Faisal, and Katsioloudes (2017), Gender in Management: An International Journal	1	Quantitative: Questionnaire (224), response rate = 75%	N/A	Most of the women entrepreneurs in certain business stages feel that their enterprise growth is stagnant as they lack the skills needed to manage and expand their business. women receive positive familial support for education and venture start ups. Regardless of the various forms of government support, women entrepreneurs that believed much more needs to be done to strengthen and support women entrepreneurship in the country. Most of them stress the importance of professional staff, financial schemes, training and education for further development and growth, which are vital to business success.
UAE	Determinants of innovation decisions among Emirati female-owned small and medium enterprises	Jabeen et al. (2019), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	Quantitative: Questionnaire (50/75)	N/A	women SME owners prioritize government policies, research and development, innovation strategy and skill development as the main criteria that influence their innovation decisions. Family support, access to external financing, social networks and the allocation of funds are the main subcriteria affecting their decisions to be innovative. Furthermore, respondents who are in the nascent business stage consider family motivation the greatest influence on initiating new ideas through financial and moral support.
UAE	Measuring Students Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Study of Al Dhafra Region, Abu Dhabi, UAE	Mohammed (2019), International Journal of Entrepreneurship	1	Quantitative: Survey (53 out 100), graduating students	Entrepreneurial intentions	Perceived support from formal institution, educational institutions and family members influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions.
UAE	Effects of context on the entrepreneurial intent of female students from the United Arab Emirates	Vracheva, Abu-Rahma, and Jacques (2019), Education and Training	1	Quantitative: Survey (151/175) female students	Theory of Planned Behavior, Entrepreneurial Intentions, Gender, Family	Family norms positively influence women students’ entrepreneurial intentions, but whether their family had owned or currently runs a business does not. The university environment does not contribute in a significant way to female students’ levels of EI. The findings on influences of the family suggest that the family plays a role but that the mechanisms by which it influences EI among women students do not involve role models (e.g. the personal example of running a business) but instill certain values and beliefs concerning entrepreneurship (e.g. via social norms). Unless their father supports an entrepreneurial career, whether the family has owned businesses in the past or is running businesses in the present might not automatically translate into entrepreneurial opportunities for a young women.
UAE	‘Strategic (dis)obedience’: Female entrepreneurs reflecting on and acting upon patriarchal practices	Barragan, Erogul, and Essers (2018), Gender, Work & Organization	3	Qualitative: Life-story interviews (22)	Women’s entrepreneurial agency and identities in patriarchal – Islamic societies. Microemancipation, dominators (i.e. men of the patriarchal family) and the dominated (i.e. women entrepreneurs).	Women entrepreneurs face the dilemma of disobeying or obeying the boundaries established by the men in their family. While they seem to direct their micro-emancipatory acts toward ‘ends’ and ‘means’, they spend most of their efforts in ‘social relations’, which entail an ongoing process of ‘explaining’, ‘persuading’ and ‘convincing’ the men in the family. This process involves persistence and patience. Moreover, disobedience is rarely presented as openly confrontational to family members, referred to as ‘strategic obedience’ acts, because it involves the possibility of micro-emancipatory acts. This strategic obedience involves a dialectic process of reflexivity and agency.
UAE	Social capital impediments in the united Arab emirates: a case of Emirati Female entrepreneurs	Erogul (2011), Journal of Enterprising Culture	1	Qualitative: Interview (17)		Women entrepreneurs who engage with men in business require a ‘male contact facilitator’ from their family or relatives to do so. These men are facilitated by the entrepreneur to adopt the role of a ‘male network Partner’ (MNP) to provide support in overcoming challenges and achieving business objectives.
UAE	United Arab Emirates female entrepreneurs: motivations and frustrations	Itani, Sidani, and Baalbaki (2011), Equality Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal	1	Qualitative: Interview (16)		The vast majority of these women obtain their startup capital via personal savings. The results suggest that this reflects the wealthy nature of UAE nationals who have enough capital from savings to commence their own businesses. Sole proprietorship is the legal form of most of the enterprises, with a significant share among family shareholders. Most of the respondents report a lack of financial and managerial know–how and industry knowledge to be possible hindrances for business growth.
UAE	Students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship: does gender matter in the UAE?	Majumdar and Varadarajan (2013), Foresight	1	Quantitative: Survey (244), students		The results of this empirical research suggest that no gender differences exist among the factors that shape entrepreneurial intentions, particularly among business students. Both male and female students in the UAE show high and equal intentions to become entrepreneurs. This is possible due to the efforts of the UAE Government toward gender equality and the elimination of discrimination against women in all socioeconomic spheres of life.
UAE	Female entrepreneurship in the UAE: a multilevel integrative lens	Naguib and Jamali (2015), Gender in Management: An International Journal	1	Qualitative: Focus group (15)	Institutional Theory	This study documents the positive changes favoring women entrepreneurship and reveals the persistence of various traces the stereotypes and patriarchy that continue to constrain the free expression of women entrepreneurs in the UAE. The expressed motives reveal the coexistence of push factors (e.g. financial security, lack of job opportunities, low income) and pull factors (e.g. self-esteem, social status recognition, self-actualization, independence and nationalism). Notably, the group of expatriate women refers mainly to the former factors, while the local participants point to the latter. All agree that contributions to family income are a shared responsibility of men and women. However, there is a notable difference between Emirati males and expatriates’ perspectives. While for Emirati men, the work of women is a choice and a way to keep them busy and use their free time productively, for the expatriates, it is more a necessity and a way to help the husband financially.
UAE	Factors that affect women entrepreneurs: evidence from an emerging economy	Naser et al. (2009), International Journal of Organizational Analysis	1	Quantitative: Questionnaire (449/750)	N/A	Financial support from the government, especially start-up capital, is an important factor that motivates women to establish their own businesses. Self-fulfilment, knowledge, skills and experience, including the relationship to the spouse’s/father’s business, are all important factors in the development of women entrepreneurs. Unlike previous research factors social norms, market networks, and competition do not seem to be barriers for women in becoming entrepreneurs.
UAE	Relevance of education for potential entrepreneurs: an international investigation	Sowmya, Majumdar, and Gallant (2010), Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development	2	Quantitative: Survey (510/860)	Entrepreneurial Intentions	The results indicated that the majority of students possessed entrepreneurial attitudes. Furthermore, both students’ characteristics and entrepreneurial experience were found to be associated with certain entrepreneurial attitudes. The results showed that young female students in Dubai are positive regarding the role that universities can play in fostering their interest in entrepreneurship and their education and can serve as the incubators for their new venture.
UAE	How Islamic Business Ethics Impact Women Entrepreneurs: Insights from Four Arab Middle Eastern Countries	Tlaiss (2015), International Small Business Journal	3	Qualitative: Interview (20)	Postmaterialism, legitimation/social approval & dissatisfaction	Women’s entrepreneurial motives are embedded in prevailing societal norms that stress their caregiver roles and the legal and religious responsibilities of their male family members. Women entrepreneurs do not challenge the macroinstitutions of government, family or cultural expectation. On the contrary, they are responsive to encouraging governmental initiatives and cultural expectations, as these allow them to better serve their families and their capacities as wives and mothers, and themselves as career women. These women are motivated by the need for autonomy, independence, and freedom. They frame their entrepreneurial motives around Islamic teachings, which are used to justify their nonmaterial motives. This courage to pursue the need for independence in a traditional, Islamic society highlights Emirati agency and is different from findings in studies concerning Islamic values.
UAE	Gender differences in entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions: the case of Brand Dubai	Ahmed, Amponsah, and Johnson (2019), International Journal Business and Emerging Markets	1	Quantitative: (476/550)	Entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions	This study finds no gender-specific or significant differences between men and women in their entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions.
UAE	Prioritizing the factors promoting innovation in Emirati female-owned SMEs: AHP approach	Al Matroushi et al, (2018) International Journal Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management	1	Quantitative: Survey (30)	N/A	Respondents agree that innovation strategy and innovation culture play a role in SME success.
UAE	Students’ entrepreneurial readiness in the United Arab Emirates: an empirical inquiry of related factors	Tipu, Zeffane, and Ryan (2011), International Journal of Business and Globalisation	Not in ABS	Quantitative: Survey (305) Students	N/A	Entrepreneurial readiness is strongly linked with students low academic performance, parents’ employment status and gender.
UAE	Context, gender and entrepreneurial intentions: How entrepreneurship education changes the equation	Van Ewijk and Belghiti-Mahut (2019), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship	2	Quantitative: Survey (246) Students	Entrepreneurial intentions	The results indicate a negative effect of gender stereotypes on female students entrepreneurial intentions in the beginning of entrepreneurship courses. However, no gender difference is noted when the entrepreneurship course concludes. The authors claim that women students are more likely to experience positive changes in EI than men students.

Figure 1. Organizing framework derived from the thematic analysis of the literature. Note that the solid boxes and arrows represent topics that have been discussed in the current review. The boxes in the dashed frames offer directions for future research.

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