_CROSSOVERS_ _3_ by men could be an avenue for programming. Nevertheless, it is important to evaluate the higher-profit potential in the male-dominated sectors along with an appreciation of the heterogeneity of the female entrepreneurs and the business challenges that come with operating in sectors dominated by men. We supplement the analysis in Ethiopia by asking whether crossing over is enough. We analyze this by examining whether there are any defining characteristics of the top profit earners who have crossed over into male-dominated sectors.

In Ethiopia, it is not surprising that women entrepreneurs tend to be less successful than men because women typically start from a more-difficult situation—without easy access to finance, land, training, education, or effective business networks (Triodos Facet 2011). Female entrepreneurs face higher barriers than men when accessing finance, especially in providing collateral for loans, because most assets that lenders accept are registered to men, and there are cultural barriers to women using collateral. The share of women in Ethiopia without education is almost twice that of men, which in turn limits female entrepreneurs’ ability to expand their businesses (Ethiopia DHS 2011). A better understanding of the characteristics of women who have successfully circumvented some of the challenges and entered higher-return male-dominated sectors will help us to suggest policy interventions that could address the constraints women face in an effort to encourage the productivity of women-owned businesses and closing the gender gap. The World Bank report “Unleashing the Potential of Ethiopian Women” postulates that reducing gender inequalities in education and the labor market might increase annual gross domestic product growth in Ethiopia by approximately 1.9 percentage points.<sup>2</sup> The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section II describes our main data source. Section III describes how we defined which sectors can be considered male dominated. Section IV presents the empirical results where we compare the business performance and challenges of crossover firms with those of noncrossover firms and then explore a number of correlates associated with crossing over to male-dominated sectors. Section V provides the conclusion.

# **II. Data**

In this paper, we use data collected at baseline for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Project’s (WEDP) impact evaluation. WEDP<sup>3</sup> is the World Bank’s International Development Association–funded program that offers loans and entrepreneurship training to growth-oriented female entrepreneurs<sup>4</sup> in Ethiopia.

> 2Unleashing the Potential of Ethiopian Women, World Bank 2008.

> 3Launched in 2012, WEDP aims to increase the earnings and employment of micro and small enterprises fully or partly owned by female entrepreneurs in six selected cities. The WEDP objective is achieved by tailoring financial instruments to the needs of the participants and ensuring availability of finance and developing the entrepreneurial and technical skills of the target group. Women interested in participating in WEDP and fulfilling the criteria for project beneficiaries (not full time in school and being growth oriented) receive a WEDP membership card that entitles them to access WEDP services.

> 4The WEDP targets a specific group—(growth-oriented female entrepreneurs—defined as female entrepreneurs with the ambition and potential to expand their micro-enterprises, innovate, and generate