Women’s Participation in Self-Employment in Western Industrialized Nations

Abstract:Women account for an increasing share of the self-employed in many post-industrial economies. This article reviews recent empirical research on self-employment among women, beginning with a comparison of women and men in self-employment, noting key differences between self-employed women and their counterparts in wage and salary jobs. This is followed by a review of labor-market and family-based theoretical explanptions for these patterns in order to show the centrality of family to our understanding of female self-employment processes and outcomes. The article concludes with a review of the current state of comparative research and some suggestions for future research.