Analysis of Barriers to Women Entrepreneurship: The DEMATEL Approach

Abstract

Barriers to women entrepreneurship are numerous but they are all treated with equal importance in prior research. We believe prioritisation will advance our understanding further. Hence, we start by identifying barriers from earlier studies and explore possible causality among them. A framework based on cause and effect relationship among barriers is proposed. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique was used to establish this causality. Our analysis identifies five of the 14 barriers as causal. They are as follows: lack of education, experience and training opportunities; spatial mobility and lack of family support; lack of institutional support; lack of entrepreneurial management; and problem in acquiring financial resources. Women entrepreneurs, scholars and policymakers will gain greater understanding through this causal framework of barriers. Knowledge and containment of these barriers will help in fostering a more conducive environment for enabling more women to attempt entrepreneurship.