Abstract

Contemporary scholarship recognises the growing importance of entrepreneurship globally, and increasingly acknowledges that entrepreneurship is a gendered phenomenon. As a consequence, research in the area of gender and entrepreneurship has attracted considerable attention from researchers, practitioners and policy makers in recent years, and its theoretical reach has extended beyond the traditional commercial/for-profit sector into social and non-profit ventures. In light of this, our chapter considers why adopting a gendered perspective in social entrepreneurship is both important and timely. We provide an overview of how gender is conceptualised in social entrepreneurship, consider key contemporary themes in the gender and social entrepreneurship literatures, and map out some new research directions for future scholars that could potentially add value to the field and enhance understanding of gender and social entrepreneurial endeavour.