Are Women Entrepreneurs More Likely to Share Power than Men Entrepreneurs in Decision-Making?

This study examines whether there are gender differences in personal traits and decision making patterns amongChinese private entrepreneurs. Data from a 2004 national-wide survey of 3012 private firms in China show thatthere is no gender difference in education level between women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts,however, women entrepreneurs have smaller family size and work longer hours in their firms than maleentrepreneurs. Consistent with what was found in the developed countries firms owned by Chinese womenentrepreneurs are significantly smaller in term of the numbers of employees, revenue and profit. Moreover,women entrepreneurs in China are more likely to make important decisions together with their major managerscompared to their male counterparts.