Tiantian Yang, Management, The Wharton School
Abstract: Gender disparities persist in entrepreneurship, with women facing significant challenges in founding and growing ventures (Gompers et al., 2021; Rocha and van Praag, 2020). Women represent just 20% of founders in the U.S. (Guzman and Kacperczyk, 2019) and tend to underperform relative to men (Ruef et al., 2003; Kim et al., 2006). Prior research attributes this gap to systemic barriers, such as educational and institutional constraints (“leaky pipeline”), and evaluative biases from investors and gatekeepers (Brush et al., 2006; Thébaud, 2015).
Existing studies, however, often assume entrepreneurs operate independently of their spouses, overlooking the role of spousal dynamics in venture creation. Evidence suggests spousal participation significantly influences entrepreneurial entry and outcomes (Yang and Aldrich, 2014; Ruef et al., 2003), yet its impact on key performance indicators like hiring remains underexplored. Hiring is critical for startups, as new ventures rely on human capital to develop products and establish viability (Agarwal et al., 2016).
This study examines how spousal team composition shapes employment growth, with a focus on gendered differences. Using PSED II data, we analyze hiring patterns in spousal and non-spousal teams, complemented by a field experiment to assess employee responses to founder gender and team composition. By integrating spousal dynamics into entrepreneurial research, we provide new insights into gender inequality and propose mechanisms that link team composition with startup success.