Why are female entrepreneurs fewer in developed nations?

Here is a fun fact: women in Sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to be entrepreneurs and match up with their men, while US and Western Europe have a substantial discrepancy between the male and fame entrepreneurship levels [1].

Ratio of male to female entrepeneurs in different societies.

Compared with US, women in Developed Asia are more likely to not exit their business.

Women pursuing with their businesses.

What are the impendiments facing women entrepreneurs?

1. Birthing and raising kids takes few years of the peak productive time of women. Unlike a government job or work in a major corporation, it is hard to take time off from your own startup or a small shop during pregnancy. While we men could afford to focus on career almost on exclusivity, social compulsions put more of the family responsibility on women. This is especially hard for women entrepreneurs.
2. Family inheritance: I recently took a course on running family businesses. The class is almost all male. The recurring thread is that families must give the real estate to the women and keep the business protected with the male kids — to avoid political battles. Thus, males have an unfair advantage in taking the rein of family enterprises — most common types of businesses worldwide.
3. Leaving Legacy: Men feel a compelling need to leave their legacy. I have not heard of a single female too preoccupied with this thing. Whether it is comes to initiating wars or founding business, the leaving legacy is a strong part of male ethos.
4. Misogyny in key feeder sectors: Sectors such as technology and finance are key for entrepreneurs. These are historically male dominated and allegedly exhibit a high degree of misogyny [5,6].
5. Lack of mentors and role-models: In most business functions, mentorship is very critical. This is especially true when you are starting a business in an unfamiliar territory. Due to existing social setups, women in business find it harder to find the right role models and mentors [7].
6. Aspirations: Due to factors above and possibly due to more social reasons, male students historically have had more aspirations to be business owners. Many smart & ambitious female students have historically tended towards sectors such as medicine and teaching. This also sets a self-fulfilling prophesy.
7. Lower governmental involvement: In education and workplace, governments in the West have worked hard to provide equal opportunities for women. Entrepreneurship has a low involvement from the government.

Also read:

1. http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/global-research/gem/Documents/GEM%202012%20Womens%20Report.pdf
2. Want to Grow the Economy? Change Four Attitudes About Women Entrepreneurs
3. Why women have to work harder to do startups
4. Why Are There So Few Female Entrepreneurs?
5. In tech, some bemoan the rise of ‘brogrammer’ culture.
6. Kleiner Perkins Sued By Partner Ellen Pao, Alleging Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination | TechCrunch
7. Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face — Secret {W} Business
8. Stubborn Cultural, Societal Views Still Hinder Women at Work