Religion and the gender gap in entrepreneurship

Despite progress in women’s education attainment and employment, the gender gap in entrepreneurship remains pervasive worldwide, driven by discriminatory practices and social exclusion embedded in cultural norms. This study investigates the potential influence of religion on the gender gap in entrepreneurship and the labor market, using a unique dataset. We differentiate among three aspects of religion: cultural capital related to entrepreneurship, religion’s effect on women’s equality, and the impact of religion on social capital supporting entrepreneurship. Our findings suggest that hierarchical religions such as Catholicism and Sunni Islam have negative impacts on both entrepreneurship levels and the proportion of women entrepreneurs, while Judaism has a positive impact on entrepreneurship but a negative impact on the proportion of women entrepreneurs. Shia Islam has an insignificant effect on entrepreneurship levels but a negative impact on the proportion of women entrepreneurs. Other religions, including Protestantism, Christian Orthodoxy, Hinduism, and Buddhism, do not appear to have a significant impact on entrepreneurship or the proportion of women entrepreneurs. These results have important policy implications for promoting women’s entrepreneurship and highlight the potential role of alternative social networks.