Bank Loan Officers Perceptions of the Characteristics

Much anecdotal evidence suggests that women, compared to similarly situated men, have great difficulty securing financing for entrepreneurial endeavors. In addition, a mounting body of evidence illustrates how women in managerial roles are perceived in terms of sex stereotypes rather than in terms of their accomplishments. The present study extends this line of research to investigate whether female entrepreneurs are also viewed in terms of sex stereotypes. One hundred and six bank loan officers evaluated either men, women, or successful entrepreneurs on scales assessing nine attributes of successful entrepreneurs. The nine entrepreneurial qualities were leadership, autonomy, propensity to take risks, readiness for change, endurance, lack of emotionalism, low need for support, low conformity, and persuasiveness. It was hypothesized that sex stereotypes influenced perceptions that women, compared to men, did not possess the characteristics necessary for successful entrepreneurship. Results confirmed the hypothesis that characteristics attributed to successful entrepreneurs were more commonly ascribed to men than to women. On the dimensions of leadership, autonomy, risk taking, readiness for change, endurance, lack of emotionalism and low need for support, bank loan officers rated women as significantly less like successful entrepreneurs compared t