A global analysis of female innovative entrepreneurship and the role of financial development

Drawing on feminist and institutional perspectives, this study analyses whether women are equally likely as men to engage in innovative entrepreneurship and whether the maturity of debt and equity markets strengthens women's participation. We use data from 71,888 early-stage ventures across 101 countries and show that women are as likely as men to engage in innovative entrepreneurship, once crucial individual and country-level factors are controlled for. Further, we demonstrate that both debt and equity market development positively moderate this relationship. These findings reveal that gender gaps in innovative entrepreneurship reflect structural and institutional conditions rather than intrinsic propensities and highlight the role that financial development plays in supporting female innovative entrepreneurship.