Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between male and female entrepreneurs?  This SBA Office of Advocacy funded report  will help you gain a better understanding of the extent to which entrepreneurship by men and women is different.

The SBA Office of Advocacy funded paper "Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?," by Erin Kepler and Scott Shane finds that gender does not affect new venture performance when other factors are controlled for.  However, several factors--differing expectations, reasons for starting a business, motivations, opportunities sought and types of businesses--vary between the genders, and these result in differing outcomes.  Such observations should be taken into account when comparing the outcomes of ventures across genders.

The data used for the study was from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED) focusing on businesses started in 1998 and 1999.

A full copy of this report is available at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs309tot.pdf, and the research summary can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs309.pdf. Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Brian Headd at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.