The Influence of Gender on Students’ Entrepreneurial Approach

The aim of this study was to explore the role of gender in entrepreneurial approaches taken by students. The research method was descriptive-survey. To this end, a sample of 580 students (295 females and 285 males) was selected through multi-stage cluster sampling from students at Islamic Azad University in Fars province, Iran. The data were collected through Personality Traits Questionnaire from Kordaneech, Zali, Homan, and Shams (2007). After determining the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, it was administered to the respondents and the collected data were analyzed using ttest and Friedman test. The results showed male and female respondents’ total scores and its component scores for their entrepreneurial approach was higher than average except for ambiguity tolerance. In addition, the results of t-test indicated that there is a significant difference between male and female respondents in their entrepreneurial approach and components such as risk taking and activism, as male respondents scored higher on risk-taking and female respondents scored higher than their male counterparts on activism. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of other six components, i.e. internal locus of control, need to succeed, clearness of thought, ambiguity tolerance, dreaming, and need for challenge