Gender stereotypes, resilience and self-efficacy as determinants of female entrepreneurial intentions

Abstract

Female entrepreneurship intentions as an area of research is very limited especially as the contributions of women into the economy both locally and internationally seems imminent. This study therefore investigated how the dimensions of gender stereotypes, resilience and self-efficacy influenced female entrepreneurial intentions in Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was used with two hundred and seventy three (273) female students in a tertiary institution exposed to Entrepreneurship and Business Management in a distance learning centre in Ibadan, Nigeria aged between 20 and 50 years. Data was collected with standardized scales measuring all the variables in the study. Results indicated that all the dimensions of gender stereotypes, resilience and self-efficacy significantly jointly predicted female entrepreneurial intentions but female gender roles, male gender roles, resilience and self-efficacy did not independently predict female entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, results indicated that female entrepreneurs with high resilience reported significantly higher levels of entrepreneurial intentions than those with low resilience. Lastly, female entrepreneurs with high self-efficacy reported significantly lower levels of entrepreneurial intentions than those with low self-efficacy. Based on these findings, it was recommended that entrepreneurship education for women should focus on holistic training orientation and not on masculine or feminine specific related tasks alone.