Female Entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Key Role of Informal Institutions in the Reproduction of Gender Asymmetries

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of female entrepreneurship in Latin American countries and to show how the environment, through formal and especially informal institutions, influences the characteristics of the business and to some extent limits the exploitation of opportunities by women. Entrepreneurship addressed in the text consists of initiatives characterized by creativity, risks, use of available resources, and the ability to generate wealth and change economic and social contexts, especially at the micro level. The literature review showed how informal institutions, impregnated by patriarchal and macho culture, shape and determine gender relations in the world of work in the region, especially in business activities conducted by women. Although the cases presented cannot be generalized to all Latin American countries, they provide a small sample of the obstacles, challenges, and limitations imposed on female entrepreneurs by the social structure and its repeated practices consolidated in Latin American society.

Citation

Rezaei, S. and França Marques, D.H. (2021), "Female Entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Key Role of Informal Institutions in the Reproduction of Gender Asymmetries", Rezaei, S., Li, J., Ashourizadeh, S., Ramadani, V. and Gërguri-Rashiti, S. (Ed.) The Emerald Handbook of Women and Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 73-90. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-326-020211005