Abstract
The analysis of the regularities characterizing the existing rate of female early-stage entrepreneurial activity, as well as the identification of reserves for female entrepreneurship growth is relevant nowadays. The purpose of the work is to assess the rates of entrepreneurial activity of women, their motivational preferences, and comparative analysis of female and male early-stage entrepreneurial activities. The study is based on the economic analysis of the data on 48 countries, presented in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report for 2018. Normal distribution density functions are used in the modeling process. The research reveals features of female entrepreneurship and the barriers to its development. The paper defines countries with high and low values of the considered indicators. The study estimates the existing rates of opportunity and necessity motivation of female entrepreneurs, presents the analysis of the ratio of female to male participation in early-stage entrepreneurial activity, and proves the hypothesis on substantial differentiation of these indicators across countries. The obtained knowledge can be used in future scientific research, in the educational process of bachelors and masters training. The scientific novelty lies in the study of the distribution of indicators characterizing female entrepreneurs’ motivation and the existing gender gap in early-stage entrepreneurship. The study proposes new methods and tools for the analysis and presents a comparative analysis of the development of female and male early-stage entrepreneurship.