Gender status research demonstrates that the power of gender status beliefs in shaping gender inequalities is rooted in the fact that these beliefs are institutionalized and operate at the societal level to shape social relations of inequality at the individual level. However, recent empirical analyses linking gender status beliefs to gender inequality in entrepreneurship have only examined the effect of individual gender, not that of societal-level gender status beliefs, on gender inequality in entrepreneurship. This study fills this gap in this literature by examining the potential effect of societal-level gender status beliefs on gender inequality in entrepreneurship, using data from 51 countries. The results show that gender inequality in entrepreneurship is greater in societies where gender status beliefs are stronger. For instance, gender inequality in entrepreneurship is greater in societies where status beliefs about gender differences in leadership competency and the right to employment are stronger. However, the results also show that these beliefs are more strongly associated with gender inequality among nascent entrepreneurs than established business owners. These findings support feminist scholars’ claim that gender status advantage is pervasive in modern institutions and suggest that gender status advantage may manifest differently across stages of the entrepreneurship process.

性别地位研究表明，性别地位信仰在塑造性别不平等方面的力量植根于这样一个事实，即这些信仰被制度化并在社会层面上运作，从而在个人层面塑造不平等的社会关系。然而，最近将性别地位信念与创业中的性别不平等联系起来的实证分析只考察了个体性别的影响，而不是社会层面的性别地位信仰对创业中的性别不平等的影响。本研究通过使用来自 51 个国家的数据检验社会层面的性别地位信念对创业中的性别不平等的潜在影响，填补了该文献中的这一空白。结果表明，在性别地位信念更强的社会中，创业中的性别不平等程度更大。例如，在关于领导能力和就业权的性别差异的地位信念更强的社会中，创业中的性别不平等现象更为严重。然而，结果还表明，这些信念与新生企业家之间的性别不平等比已建立的企业主更密切相关。这些发现支持女权主义学者关于性别地位优势在现代机构中普遍存在的主张，并表明性别地位优势可能在创业过程的各个阶段以不同的方式表现出来。结果还表明，与成熟企业主相比，这些信念与新生企业家之间的性别不平等更密切相关。这些发现支持女权主义学者关于性别地位优势在现代机构中普遍存在的主张，并表明性别地位优势可能在创业过程的各个阶段以不同的方式表现出来。结果还表明，与成熟企业主相比，这些信念与新生企业家之间的性别不平等更密切相关。这些发现支持女权主义学者关于性别地位优势在现代机构中普遍存在的主张，并表明性别地位优势可能在创业过程的各个阶段以不同的方式表现出来。