THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN ZIMBABWE

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of gender, owner characteristics (owner age, motivation, education level, skills and experience, hours worked per day and family ownership) and business characteristics (business location and business sector) on business performance in Zimbabwe. Materials and Methods: Data was obtained from the Finscope national survey population of 1622 business owners. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression model was used to determine the relationship between gender, owner and business characteristics and business performance. Findings: The findings indicate that gender has no significant influence on business performance. Owner characteristics (owner age, motivation, education level, skills and experience and hours worked per day) and business characteristics (business location and business sector) were found to have a significant influence on business performance. The findings do provide some support for both liberal and social feminist theories. As to liberal feminist theory, findings indicate that gender differences in education levels and skills and experience partly explain the differences on business performance. Whilst, social feminist theory is based on the premise that male and female socialisation process is different, these inherent differences like gender roles at work and home between males and females lead to differences in business performance. Zimbabwean female business owners are still disadvantaged relative to their male counterparts in business performance. Recommendations: There is need for a comprehensive study on factors determining the performance of female business owners, particularly in the prestart-up and start-up phases as this would be beneficial. It would be ideal in future to conduct a qualitative inquiry or a mixed methods study that could include the voices of men and women in order to appreciate the lived experiences