The Effect Of Gender Role On Entrepreneurship Development In Ghana: The Role Of Self-efficacy And Family Support

Entrepreneurship is a conduit for creating employment opportunities and has been recognized as the foundation of many economies in both developing and developed nations.But,there is still the issue of gender imbalance in the field of entrepreneurship.The lack of equal recognition and participation by each of the gender(male and female)in business is a loss to society and the country.In different social cultures,gender role has a different influence on entrepreneurship development.For entrepreneurs in African culture,gender role on entrepreneurship development has not been thoroughly studied.More so,the rise in the number of females in the entrepreneurial field in Ghana called for the need to holistically look into the role played by both males and females.This study,therefore,assessed the gender role on entrepreneurship development in Ghana and tested the mediation and moderation roles of self-efficacy and family support respectively.Relying on quantitative,qualitative research design and a convenience sampling approach,a questionnaire was developed and administered to the study population who were entrepreneurs in four selected major markets in the Kumasi Metropolis,Ghana(Kejetia market,Asafo market,Oforikrom market,and Central market).With the help of the leadership of the various entrepreneurial group,the questionnaire was administered through online portals and emails.9 weeks were used in gathering the raw data.The sample size adopted for the study was 455 with females and males making up 220 and 235 respectively.The data was processed and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS version 26).The descriptive,Pearson correlation,multiple regression,mediated multiple regression,and moderated multiple regression was used to test the research hypotheses.Using a confidence interval of 95%,the regression models for both male and female entrepreneurs recorded an R~2(variations between the variable)of 0.637 and0.530 respectively,showing that the models for the study were good and reliable.The research revealed three important findings:firstly,gender role had a positive and significant correlation with entrepreneurship development.The influence coefficient of male gender role on entrepreneurial development is 0.431,slightly higher than that of female gender role(0.212).Secondly,self-efficacy was established to mediate the relationship between gender role and entrepreneurship development for both genders.Thirdly,the moderating effect of family support on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurship development for both genders was ascertained from the regression model.The outcome of the study contributes to The Social Cognitive Theory(SCT)and Bird(1988)entrepreneur model such that the role of gender,self-efficacy of entrepreneurs,and support from the family are captured in the environmental and cognitive aspects of SCT and the social,political,and economic aspect of the Bird 1988to ensure development.This study advocates for the promotion of entrepreneurship development as a career in the country across gender and also calls for adequate support from the family,to ensure the sustainability of individuals’contributions towards entrepreneurship development.Agencies that are responsible for managing the entrepreneurial enterprise should endeavor to develop the abilities,augment their scope of knowledge,psychological makeup,and skills of entrepreneurs to manage a venture.