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

Abstract

<p>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 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 gender-differentiated pronouns, there is a greater gender gap in entrepreneurial activity. Our results suggest that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage women's entry into entrepreneurship.<br /></p>