You’re the One That She Wants (To Be)? Female Political Leaders and Women’s Entrepreneurial Activity

This paper addresses the effects of female political role models on shaping women’s entrepreneurial activity and perceptions. Using a bivariate probit with an instrument, our findings reveal that the presence of female political leaders reduces the fear of failure towards entrepreneurial activity and increases the likelihood for a woman to recognize the existence of entrepreneurial opportunities, and to be self-employed. This effect is reinforced if the age difference between the potential female entrepreneur and her role model is lower. Furthermore, we demonstrate that exposure to a female leader positively influences entrepreneurial perception and activity by altering adverse gendered social norms. It also allows improving entrepreneurship-friendly policymaking for women