firms, and “supply‐side” barriers, or those that inhibit women from entering or staying in the labor force, or starting businesses.

# **Supply‐side barriers**

- **Opportunity cost.** Women face a higher opportunity cost to engaging in market work due to the disproportionate share of home responsibilities for which they are responsible in many (if not all) cultures and societies. One of the most notable gaps is in terms of childcare responsibilities. Women spend more time taking care of children than men do—between 2 and 4.6 times as much, depending on the country.<sup>9</sup>

- **Imperfect information** . Women are more likely to lack information about employers’ or investors’ needs, expectations, and requirements, in part because of women’s smaller professional networks. For example, many venture capitalists and angel investors make investment decisions on the basis of information provided by their networks. Fewer women than men are active members of these networks, given that management positions in the venture capital industry are almost entirely occupied by men. (One survey showed that fewer than 5% of European business angel network members are women.<sup>10</sup> )

- **Capital market imperfections** . Women are often not able to access capital as easily as men due to limited collateral, lower or nonexistent credit, lack of knowledge of lending practices, limited business experience and skills, or discrimination on the part of lenders and investors. Access to credit can be a significant barrier to starting and growing a business. In OECD countries, men are more likely to receive a loan from financial institutions. In the United States, in 2007, 11.1 percent of male‐owned firms had requested a bank loan, while only 6.3 percent of female‐owned firms had done the same.<sup>11</sup>

- **Gender role norms** . Societal, cultural, or religious norms that dictate what types of behaviors are acceptable or desirable for women can limit—explicitly or implicitly—the types of jobs that they seek out, or even whether they seek market work at all. In both developed and developing countries, for example, women are significantly underrepresented in certain occupations and roles including plant and machine operators and assemblers; craft and related trade workers; and legislators, senior officials and managers.<sup>12</sup>

# **Demand‐side barriers**

- **Higher costs** . Employers may believe that hiring women will be more costly. In some cases, this is due to employers paying for benefits and support services like childcare or maternity leave. For example, if childcare and/or maternal leave are paid for by the employer—rather than financed through taxes— the employer will perceive female employees to be more expensive to hire than an equivalent male. Even if maternal leave is financed through taxes, or not offered, employers may still perceive that productivity loss due to pregnancy and childcare needs will make female employees more expensive. In some countries, cultural or religious norms lead to higher costs. In Saudi Arabia, for example, female employees require separate work facilities, imposing an additional cost on the employer.<sup>13</sup>

> 9 “Gender Equality and Development,” World Development Report 2012 (Washington DC: World Bank Group, 2011).

> 10 Adema et al., “Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship and Business Leadership in OECD Countries.”

> 11 Adema et al.

> 12 “The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics” (United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs, 2015). 13 “Back to Work in a New Economy: Background Paper on the Saudi Labor Market” (Center for International Development at Harvard University, Ministry of Labor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Human Resources Development Fund, April 2015).

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