Women-Led Enterprises, Institutional Barriers, and Economic Development

Jing Wen
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19085/sijmd120201

Abstract

Women-led enterprises represent a substantial and growing segment of the global economy, yet they continue to face a set of institutional barriers that limit their scale, survival, and contribution to economic growth. This paper examines how formal and informal institutional structures, including legal frameworks, access to credit, cultural norms, and regulatory environments, shape the outcomes of women-owned businesses. Drawing on institutional theory and empirical evidence from both developed and developing economies, the paper argues that the underperformance of women-led enterprises relative to their potential is not a product of entrepreneurial deficiency but of structurally embedded constraints. The paper also discusses how removing these barriers generates measurable gains in GDP, employment, and household welfare. The findings call for coordinated reforms across financial, legal, and social institutions to unlock the full economic contribution of women entrepreneurs.

Keywords

Women entrepreneurship, institutional barriers, economic development, gender gap, access to finance, informal institutions

Full Text:

PDF

References

Ahl, H. (2006). Why research on women entrepreneurs needs new directions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(5), 595–621. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2006.00138.x

Baumol, W. J. (1990). Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), 893–921. https://doi.org/10.1086/261712

Brush, C. G., de Bruin, A., & Welter, F. (2009). A gender-aware framework for women's entrepreneurship. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 8–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/17566260910942172

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. (2021). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2020/2021 women's entrepreneurship report: Thriving through crisis. Global Entrepreneurship Research Association.

International Labour Organization. (2019). Women in business and management: The business case for change. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_700953.pdf

Marlow, S., & Patton, D. (2005). All credit to men? Entrepreneurship, finance, and gender. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(6), 717–735. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00105.x

Minniti, M., & Naudé, W. (2010). What do we know about the patterns and determinants of female entrepreneurship across countries? European Journal of Development Research, 22(3), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2010.17

North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.

Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.

Welter, F. (2011). Contextualizing entrepreneurship—conceptual challenges and ways forward. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(1), 165–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00427.x

World Bank. (2012). World development report 2012: Gender equality and development. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-8810-5

Be a part of worldclass research: Publish with us