Reinforcing Confidence? Gender Gaps in Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy in Finland

Abstract

Entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) - the belief in one’s ability to perform entrepreneurial tasks - is a well-established predictor of entrepreneurial entry, persistence, and outcomes (Chen et al., 1998; Zhao et al., 2005; Newman et al., 2019). A large body of research shows systematic gender gaps in ESE, with women consistently reporting lower entrepreneurial confidence than men (Wilson et al., 2007; Shinnar et al., 2012). Yet most evidence comes from Anglo-American contexts, while Nordic welfare states such as Finland, globally recognized for gender equality, remain understudied. Moreover, although ESE is often treated as an antecedent of entrepreneurial behavior, fewer studies examine how entrepreneurial experience itself may reinforce ESE, potentially creating a self-reinforcing cycle that disadvantages women. This study addresses these gaps by analyzing data from the 2025 Finnish Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Adult Population Survey (N = 2,050). We investigate how gender, age, household size, income, role model exposure, and business ownership predict ESE, and whether ownership mediates gender differences. Multinomial logistic regression results show that gender, age, role model exposure, and business ownership significantly predict ESE, while household size and income do not. Women are markedly less likely than men to report moderate (OR = 0.38, p < .001) or strong (OR = 0.67, p < .001) self-efficacy. Business ownership is the strongest predictor: owners are over three times more likely to report moderate ESE and more than eleven times more likely to report strong ESE compared to non-owners (p < .001). Bootstrapped mediation analysis further demonstrates that ownership partially mediates the gender gap: men are more likely to own businesses, and this experience significantly strengthens self-efficacy. While ESE clearly influences entrepreneurial entry, our findings also highlight the reverse pathway: entrepreneurial experience reinforces ESE (Markman et al., 2002). By situating Finland in global debates on gender and entrepreneurship, this study contributes new evidence from a high-equality context and underscores the dynamic interplay between self-belief and entrepreneurial experience. The results suggest that policy measures enabling women to gain entrepreneurial exposure early, even through small-scale or low-risk ventures, could help break the cycle in which lower ESE reduces entrepreneurial engagement and lack of experience further suppresses confidence.