When Do Married Couples Become Coentrepreneurs: The Effects of Family and Workplaces

• In Event: 086 - Regular Session. Economic Sociology. Gender in the Economy

Abstract

Sociologists have long recognized family as an important institution in modern societies, especially when it comes to explaining social disparities between men and women. Yet, little research has been devoted to understanding the effects of family in shaping gender inequality when husbands and wives are jointly involved in economic production. In Our research, we build the connection between studies on economic production and social reproduction by examining the joint effects of workplaces and family on spousal couples’ involvement in entrepreneurship. By analyzing a unique longitudinal data set from Sweden between 1994 and 2002, our results show that women’s chances to become entrepreneurs are constrained by their access to entrepreneurial peers at workplaces. Meanwhile, the differential effects of work peers on men and women’s likelihood of becoming entrepreneurs are substantially moderated by men’s dominance in spousal relationships, the relative comparative advantage of spousal couples’ earnings, and the presence of children in the households. Improving upon previous research, our findings point to the mechanisms by which family-embedded gender logic interacts with social dynamics at workplaces to shape gender inequality in entrepreneurship.

Authors

• Tiantian Yang, Duke University

• Karl Wennberg, Stockholm School of Economics