sustainability

Review
Women Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Review and
Research Agenda
Mercedes Barrachina Fernández 1, * , Maria del Carmen García-Centeno 2 and Carmen Calderón Patier 3

1 CEINDO, Law and Economics Program, San Pablo CEU University, 28003 Madrid, Spain
2 Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, San Pablo CEU University, 28003 Madrid, Spain;
[email protected]
3 Department of Economy, San Pablo CEU University, 28003 Madrid, Spain; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: In various regions of the world, there is great concern about existing gender differences,
which could affect opportunities for economic growth, and how to mitigate them. Entrepreneurship
is of great importance to the economy and in a global society, and it is a hot topic for interested public
decision makers due to its growing importance in economic activity—as it creates jobs, increases
competitiveness and modernizes the economy. Sustainability is also a critical topic when designing
the future economy, and combining female entrepreneurship with sustainability results in a very
interesting topic to be evaluated when pursuing sustainable development. This paper tries to shed
light on the relationship between female entrepreneurship and sustainability by analyzing 28 different
papers from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Its main conclusion supports the idea that awareness
of women is relevant to sustainability when starting a new company. However, further research is



required due to the novelty of the topic and also the existing gaps in knowledge.



Citation: Barrachina Fernández, M.; Keywords: female entrepreneurship; sustainability; Sustainable Development Goals; entrepreneur
García-Centeno, M.d.C.; Calderón women
Patier, C. Women Sustainable
Entrepreneurship: Review and
Research Agenda. Sustainability 2021,
13, 12047. https://doi.org/ 1. Introduction and Theoretical Framework
10.3390/su132112047 Sustainability is a concept that tries to represent the balance between three different
factors: the environment, equity and the economy [1]. This concept is based on the fact that
Academic Editor: Fernando Almeida resources are finite and that they should be conserved and utilized wisely with a definition
that prioritizes a long-term approach. The sustainability concept is related to what needs
Received: 11 October 2021
to be sustained—such as nature, resources and the community—but it is also associated
Accepted: 27 October 2021
with what needs to be developed, such as the economy, individuals and society [2].
Published: 31 October 2021
One step forward in relation to this concept is “sustainable development”, a term that
was utilized by the Brundtland Commission in 1987, which was the World Commission on
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
Environment and Development [3]. This concept is focused on solving the actual issues
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
and avoiding harm to the capacity of future generations to solve their own problems.
published maps and institutional affil-
Sustainability is strongly linked to the variables that affect R&D investment [4] and,
iations.
therefore, it is a key factor when deciding whether to invest in specific companies.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are objectives strongly linked with the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with women having a critical role in achieving
those SDGs. The SDGs were defined as 17 different goals and were defined as a guide to
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
accomplish sustainable development by 2030. Those goals can be mapped across three
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
different dimensions [5]:
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and • The economic dimension. This dimension is related to the cost-efficiency relationship
conditions of the Creative Commons with the purpose of gaining profits and business opportunities, reducing risks, etc.
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// • The social dimension. This dimension is related to the health and safety of the
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ individuals, having in mind the respect of laws and regulations, with the purpose of
4.0/). improving the well-being of society.

Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112047 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 2 of 12

• The environmental dimension. This dimension is related to improving efficiency, the

utilization of resources and the impacts of different activities on the environment.
The aforementioned objectives, those objectives, gender equality and women’s em-
powerment, are associated with achieving the millennium development goals, which are
focused on eliminating the gender disparity in primary and secondary education [6]. Fe-
male entrepreneurs have the power to overcome several challenges, including creating
an environment of equity, finding equilibrium, ensuring sustainable socio-economic de-
velopment, etc. Today, increasing the presence of women in the workforce is defined as a
corporate strategy in multiple companies, in order to try to meet those SDGs.
Women represent half of the world’s population and 38.83% of the workforce (on
average) according to data from the World Bank [7]; however, female entrepreneurial
activities are still far from parity with those of men. There are several research lines
supporting the need for more women in the workforce, as entrepreneurs and in general
as leaders. For example, according to [8], the presence of women in the leadership of a
company (being the founder or a manager) provides new ideas to the industry, better
communication within the company and a transformational style for management [9].
In the literature, there is evidence that women have great capabilities, such as innova-
tive and creative thinking, leadership capabilities, social awareness and a good ability to
identify opportunities [10], and these abilities are key to achieving greater well-being for
society and improving sustainability.
This article aims to provide detailed information on the most relevant published
findings related to the role of female entrepreneurs in promoting sustainability. The value
of this research is mainly to contribute to providing reasons for supporting women’s
entrepreneurship, as although it is well-documented that women’s entrepreneurship in-
creases economic growth, there are other approaches that need attention, especially those
related to sustainability. Overall, the article is organized as follows: first, the methods for
executing the systematic review are analyzed; second, the results and the discussion of the
analysis will be presented. Finally, the main conclusions will be detailed.

2. Materials and Methods

This study was focused on performing a systematic literature review (SLR) of female
entrepreneurial activities related to sustainability aims. The SLR is a very useful method
when analyzing publications in a concrete period of time [11]. Moreover, this approach is
efficient when trying to analyze trends in the topics, and is also a method well-recognized
by researchers and scholars for conducting reviews of the field of entrepreneurship [12].
This method is rigorous and it enables one to perform an evidence-focused review [13] of
the existing literature.
The criteria followed in this SLR are as follows:
(1) The database utilized for identifying relevant literature was Web of Science (Core
Collection).
(2) The selected articles were limited to those published in English under a peer-reviewed
process.
(3) The period of time selected was from January 1980 to September 2021. We tried to
cover all of the published articles related to the topic.
(4) All publications such as book chapters, book reviews, books, conference proceedings,
reports, working papers, etc. were excluded from this analysis. Only articles were
included.
(5) The following terms were utilized in the search: “female” OR “women” AND “sus-
tainable” AND “entrepreneurship”. The title, keywords and abstract were the scope of
that search. The query was: TS = ((female or women) AND sustainable entrepreneur-
ship).
(6) The abstract of the article was read to confirm its relevance.
(7) Once the article was confirmed to be relevant for the study based on the previous
step, it was downloaded and reviewed exhaustively.
 of that search. The query was: TS = ((female or women) AND sustainable entrepre-
neurship).
(6) The abstract of the article was read to confirm its relevance.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 (7) Once the article was confirmed to be relevant for the study based on the previous
3 of 12
step, it was downloaded and reviewed exhaustively.
It is interesting to mention that there has not been a restriction to journals with a
relevant
It isimpact factorto
interesting and that thethat
mention database
there utilized
has not has
beenbeen identifiedto
a restriction as journals
one of thewith
mosta
relevant academic search systems [14]. The search was performed on 15 September
relevant impact factor and that the database utilized has been identified as one of the most 2021.
Initially,
relevant 64 different
academic search manuscripts
systems [14].were identified
The search wasinperformed
the search;onhowever, after apply-
15 September 2021.
ing the exclusion criteria, 28 articles were identified within the scope of this analysis.
Initially, 64 different manuscripts were identified in the search; however, after applying
the exclusion criteria, 28 articles were identified within the scope of this analysis.
3. Results
3. Results
This section is divided into two different subsections. The first is related to a descrip-
tive analysis of the
This section is articles
dividedwithin thedifferent
into two scope ofsubsections.
the study andThethe second
first is focused
is related on an
to a descrip-
analysis of theofcontent.
tive analysis the articles within the scope of the study and the second is focused on an
analysis of the content.
3.1. Descriptive Analysis
3.1. Descriptive Analysis
The purpose of this analysis is to provide preliminary results on the papers found
within The
thepurpose of thisperspectives
scope. Three analysis is to provide
are preliminary
considered results on
in this analysis: bythe papers
time, found
by journal
within
and the scope. Three perspectives are considered in this analysis: by time, by journal
by topic.
and by topic.
3.1.1. Papers by Time
3.1.1. Papers by Time
Figure 1 shows how the topic being discussed has increased considerably in recent
Figure 1 shows how the topic being discussed has increased considerably in recent
years, with 2020 having the most published papers related to female entrepreneurship
years, with 2020 having the most published papers related to female entrepreneurship
and sustainability. An article related to the topic evaluated was first published in 2010. In
and sustainability. An article related to the topic evaluated was first published in 2010. In
the period 2011–2015, no articles were published, but from 2016, the number of articles
the period 2011–2015, no articles were published, but from 2016, the number of articles
increased considerably. The search was performed in mid-September, so it is important
increased considerably. The search was performed in mid-September, so it is important to
to highlight that in only nine months of 2021, the number of articles published was higher
highlight that in only nine months of 2021, the number of articles published was higher
than in the previous year.
than in the previous year.

Figure 1.
Figure Article’sdistribution
1. Article’s distribution over
over time
time of
of the
the articles
articles found
found in
in the
the research.
research.

3.1.2. Papers by Journal

3.1.2. Papers by Journal
This section is an overview of the journals that compiled the papers found. As per
This section is an overview of the journals that compiled the papers found. As per
Table 1, the articles are distributed in 17 different papers and the average Journal Citation
Table
Reports1, the articles
(JCR) areFactor
Impact distributed in publications
for the 17 different papers and is
evaluated the1.92.
average Journal with
The journal Citation
the
Reports (JCR) Impact Factor for the publications evaluated is 1.92. The journal
highest number of publications on the topic analyzed is Sustainability, with a total of sevenwith the
highest
articles.number of publications
The Journal on the topic
of Cleaner Production analyzed
is placed is Sustainability,
second with a total ofwith
foura articles.
total of seven
Third
articles.
place is shared between the Journal of Enterprising Communities—People and Places Third
The Journal of Cleaner Production is placed second with a total of four articles. in the
Global Economy and the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, with two papers
each. Finally, the remaining journals, shown in Table 1 only have one article related to the
topic evaluated.
 Global Economy and the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, with two pa-
pers each. Finally, the remaining journals, shown in Table 1 only have one article related
to the topic evaluated.

Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 Table 1. Overview of the distribution of papers by journals. 4 of 12

Number Impact Factor

Journal
of Articles JCR/Index 5 Years
Table 1. Overview of the distribution of papers by journals.
Sustainability 7 3.251
Journal of Cleaner Production Number4 7.246
Impact Factor
International JournalJournal
of Gender and Entrepreneurship of Articles 2 0.565 Years
JCR/Index
Journal of Enerprising Communitis-People and Places in
Sustainability 7 2 3.251
0.55
Journalthe Global Production
of Cleaner Economy 4 7.246
InternationalJournal
Journal of
of Gender and Entrepreneurship
Sustainable Tourism 2 1 0.56
7.96
Journal of Enerprising Communitis-People
Tourism Management Perspectives and Places in
2 1 6.58
0.55
the Global Economy
Gender in Management
Journal of Sustainable Tourism 1 1 2.293
7.96
Academia—Revista Lationamericana
Tourism Management de Administración
Perspectives 1 1 1.108
6.58
Benchmarking—An International Journal
Gender in Management 1 1 0.85
2.293
Academia—Revista Lationamericana
Journal of Global de Administración
Entrepreneurship Research 1 1 1.108
0.46
Benchmarking—An International Journal 1 0.85
Measuring Business Excellence 1 0.37
Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research 1 0.46
International Journal of Entrepreneurial
Measuring Business Excellence Venturing 1 1 0.35
0.37
Worldwide
International Hospitality
Journal and Tourism
of Entrepreneurial Themes
Venturing 1 1 0.34
0.35
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes
Ekonomika Povoprivreda—Economics of Agriculture 1 1 0.34
0.31
Ekonomika Povoprivreda—Economics of Agriculture 1 0.31
Marketing and Management of Innovation 1 0.28
Marketing and Management of Innovation 1 0.28
EuropeanJournal
European Journal of Sustainable
of Sustainable Development
Development 1 1 0.13
0.13
Cuadernos
Cuadernos de Turismo
de Turismo 1 1 0.13
0.13

3.1.3.
3.1.3. Papers
Papers by by Topic
Topic and
and Keyword
Keyword
Topic
Topic
In
In this
this section,
section, an
an overview
overview of of the
the topic
topic addressed
addressed in in the
the various
various papers
papers found
found within
within
the
the scope
scope of of this
this analysis
analysis is is shown.
shown.
As
As reflected
reflected inin Figure
Figure 2, 2, 53%
53% ofof the
the articles
articles found
found are
are related
related to
to gender
gender differences
differences in
relation to
relation to female
female entrepreneurship
entrepreneurship and and sustainability.
sustainability. Moreover,
Moreover, 18% of the manuscripts
manuscripts
evaluated are
evaluated are linked
linked toto the
the general
general impact
impactof ofhaving
havingwomen
womenin inentrepreneurial
entrepreneurialactivities.
activities.
An additional
An additional18% 18%arearerelated
relatedtotothethe involvement
involvement of of female
female entrepreneurs
entrepreneurs in tourism
in tourism ac-
activities and their impact on sustainability. Finally, 11% of the articles are
tivities and their impact on sustainability. Finally, 11% of the articles are classified as mis- classified as
miscellaneous as they are focused on
cellaneous as they are focused on different topics. different topics.

Figure 2. Article’s topic distribution of the articles found in the research.

Figure 2. Article’s topic distribution of the articles found in the research.
Keywords
In this section, an overview of the most utilized keywords in the papers found within
the scope of this analysis is shown.
In Table 2, the most utilized keyword in the studies is “sustainable entrepreneurship”
with a total of five occurrences, followed by the term “sustainable development” with four.
The keywords “Sustainability”, “Entrepreneurship” and “Women entrepreneurship” are
used in three of the articles included in this analysis.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 5 of 12

Table 2. Keyword occurrence analysis.

Keyword Occurrence
Sustainable entrepreneurship 5
Sustainable development 4
Sustainability 3
Entrepreneurship 3
Women entrepreneurship 3

3.2. Content Analysis

This section evaluates, with details, for each topic found in the articles considered, the
main findings and conclusions obtained by the researchers that performed the analysis
in the different areas. At the end of each subsection, a table summarizes the mentioned
findings.

3.2.1. Gender Differences

In the literature, there is a vast number of papers focused on evaluating the gender
differences concerning many fields: economics, psychology, businesses, among others.
Some of the examples, to name a few, are differences in personality and social behavior [15],
the pay gap situation [16] or the differences when deciding to become an investor [17].
Regarding sustainability, in the literature, there is evidence to justify that gender
plays a critical role concerning consumption [18] or ethics commitment [19]. Moreover, in
the literature available on sustainable entrepreneurship, there is evidence of the growing
interest in gender [20].
Today, entrepreneurship is essential for economic growth and is directly linked to
job creation [21] and female entrepreneurship plays a key role in the creation of new
businesses. The relationship between the presence of more women in the workforce and its
consequences is evaluated in different studies [22].
Evaluating how female entrepreneurship is related to the sustainability of the com-
pany activities produces interesting results. There is evidence in the literature that confirms
that the environmental and social objectives involved in activities related to sustainable
entrepreneurship are a more attractive option for creating a company for future women
entrepreneurs. Additionally, it seems that sustainable entrepreneurship is a good approach
for empowering women and that the female motivations for entrepreneurship and sustain-
ability come from the experience and examples of other female entrepreneurs [23]. This
study also showed that considering all the different experience levels for the sustainable en-
trepreneurs involved in the study, they faced several challenges and ethical concerns when
growing the company. In general, the attitudes and consciousness of female entrepreneurs
contribute to global sustainability.
Many factors have brought attention to sustainability issues, such as economic growth
and social change. Those factors are strongly related to economics, commercial purposes,
institutional areas, policymakers or academic research, among others. In the literature,
some researchers confirmed that women are more concerned about sustainability issues
than men [24].
There are also gender-specific differences when deciding to start a business. Women
tend to create businesses based on the identified social problems and the confirmed ecolog-
ical challenges [25]. Female entrepreneurship is focused not only on financial benefits but
also on social impact, while male entrepreneurship is traditionally focused on maximizing
financial benefits.
In these analyses of the gender differences, it is interesting to evaluate the factors that
influence the decision to become a sustainable entrepreneur from a gender perspective. In
general, the decision to become an entrepreneur is evaluated more critically by women,
especially considering the impact of the new business idea on society [26].
Even though women’s contributions to their companies are still a debated topic, it
has been proven that female entrepreneurship has developed due to a gain-recognition
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 6 of 12

mentality, and to achieve excellence. Even though women face, in general, more difficulties,
they also focus on different objectives when starting a business [10].
Evaluating the factors that influence the decision to become an entrepreneur from a
gender perspective is not the only interesting area when evaluating gender differences and
entrepreneurship. A study [27] analyzed the difficulties for men and women in opening a
business in Italy, and the conclusion points out that the key issue concerns the complexity
of the business, the self-realization purpose, previous experience, the relationship with
other members of the entrepreneurial community and the impact of the business on the
environmental and social sustainability.
The first paper evaluated in the scope of this analysis was written in 2010 and based
on green entrepreneurship and its relationship with female entrepreneurship. Braun [28]
discussed the importance of the green economy as it helps protect natural resources,
decreases operating costs by reducing waste and also pollution and supports sustainable
community economic development, among others. The results showed that women are
more engaged in green issues than men in relation to becoming entrepreneurs. It also
suggests the need to extend the research to evaluate the factors that influence a business,
specifically to small businesses, with the purpose of moving from a pro-environmental
attitude approach to pro-environmental behavior.
At this point, it is interesting to evaluate what equipment women need to empower
their presence in entrepreneurship that complies with sustainability objectives. Mujeed
et al. [29] tested some hypotheses and concluded that women are more environmentally
sensitive than their male colleagues, as female participation in the workforce causes a
higher renewable energy consumption. Moreover, this study concluded that enabling
women with high technology improves the country’s environmental quality. Furthermore,
the inclusion of women in the sustainable development agenda [30] improves the long-term
growth of a country.
Considering gender differences when analyzing sustainable economic development,
there is evidence that justifies that the most critical influence on the country’s innovative
development is the female participation in the workforce and, therefore, the involvement
in entrepreneurial activities [31].
Entrepreneurship is a relevant activity when considering actions that bring society
a sustainable transformation in production and distribution. Rural entrepreneurship is
a key area of the economy of developing countries, and its activities respond actively
to climate change and other environmental causes. According to the authors of [32], fe-
male entrepreneurs have higher levels of awareness of climate change events and their
consequences, and therefore supporting their activities is key to promoting rural eco-
nomic growth. Another research [33] also confirmed that female entrepreneurs and local
entrepreneurs are more likely to be environmentally sensitive.
As mentioned before, female participation is not only key for economic growth but is
also important when considering the type of organizations founded by women. According
to results [34,35], companies created by women are more likely to create environmentally
oriented businesses, than those originated by men. Moreover, those females living in soci-
eties with strong stereotypical traditions of gender socialization tend to be more involved
in entrepreneurial activities related to the environment than male entrepreneurs.
Increasingly, the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is receiv-
ing more attention from governments and policymakers. The largest entrepreneurial
ecosystems have been studied [36] to evaluate the proportion of sustainability in startups,
concluding that countries with a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and with a high pro-
portion of female founders are strongly linked with entrepreneurial ecosystems with high
levels of sustainable businesses. More generally, according to the authors of [37], there are
four key factors that configure a sustainability-oriented company: social incubation and net-
working, the external sources of capital that positively affect sustainability, and the gender
of the founder, as companies with female leadership are more sustainability-oriented.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 7 of 12

Table 3 summarizes the main findings related to gender differences when evaluating
sustainability and entrepreneurship:

Table 3. Findings that relate gender differences with female entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Finding Description References

Sustainable entrepreneurship is a more attractive option
GD-1 [23,28,29,33,37]
for women.
Women tend to create businesses based on the identified
GD-2 [25,31,32]
social problems and the confirmed ecological challenges.
Women are more likely to evaluate the business idea
GD-3 [26,30]
considering the impact on society and the environment.
GD-4 Women tend to create environment-oriented businesses. [34,35]

3.2.2. Impact
The consequences of having more women in the workforce are considerable. There
are economic, social, creative or even family benefits.
Concerning female entrepreneurship and considering the importance of entrepreneurial
activities in the economy, it is essential to evaluate the impact of female entrepreneurial
activities in businesses from different approaches. A study [38] evaluated the importance
of women’s businesses, concluding that they have a positive impact on the economy and
development of the country. Therefore, a first conclusion could be that the role of female
entrepreneurs is key when deploying sustainable practices in different areas: the economy,
the environment and society.
In general, the greater the presence of women on corporate boards, the higher the
firms’ values [39]. A study [40] evaluated female entrepreneurship in relation to the firm
performance, concluding that females involved in the management and ownership of a
company tend to increase the company’s sustainable performance. Moreover, the influence
of female entrepreneurship leading and owning companies is strongly linked to building
communities that are aware of the need for sustainable development [41].
The impact is also related to how the business changes and how the business reacts to
those changes. Buil-Fabregá et al. [42] developed an analysis to evaluate the individual
dynamic capabilities to ensure business sustainability, concluding that businesses founded
by women promote, in greater depth, social and environmental commitment. The findings
also suggested that companies with key managerial capabilities could help in slowing
down challenging environmental problems such as climate change or mitigating social
inequalities.
Table 4 summarizes the main findings related to impact when evaluating sustainability
and entrepreneurship:

Table 4. Findings that relate impact with female entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Finding Description References

The role of female entrepreneurs is key when deploying sustainable
I-1 [38]
practices in different areas: economy, environment and society.
Companies founded or managed by females build communities
I-2 [41]
aware of the sustainable development need.
I-3 Businesses founded by women promote environmental and social [42]
commitment.

3.2.3. Tourism
Tourism is an important industry for specific countries whose economies are based
on the services sector. The development of tourism is a concept that is evolving with time.
Currently, it involves a holistic approach and includes high economic growth rates, high
income or high GDP per capita [43]. Moreover, tourism is directly related to different SDGs,
specifically related to goals 8, 12 and 14, that are focused on decent work and economic
growth, responsible consumption and production and life below water, respectively.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 8 of 12

In this review, female entrepreneurship and its relationship with sustainability were
evaluated. It was found that the tourism industry is a specific topic for the articles found.
It seems that for researchers, this industry and the involvement of females in the creation
of business and the awareness of sustainability are relevant to academia.
Martini et al. [44] studied the importance of female entrepreneurship in the develop-
ment of sustainable tourism in a very specific case: the rural mountain environments. This
study confirmed that authenticity, innovation or even experientiality are relevant female
entrepreneurship characteristics when founding a business related to rural environments.
Women give importance to different aspects of sustainability, specifically to the social and
environmental characteristics, when creating businesses in the tourism industry [45]. The
mentioned research confirmed that men are interested in sustainability when creating busi-
nesses if it is linked with business opportunities, while, women are interested in creating
environmental products and inclusive workplace environments.
There are varied factors influencing tourism development, such as social empower-
ment, economic empowerment or political empowerment. Abou-Shouk et al. [46] con-
firmed that the perceptions of women’s work in tourism and women’s entrepreneurship are
positively affecting tourism development even in the marine tourism sector [47]. Radovic-
Markovic et al. [48] considered the green growth perspective of female entrepreneurship in
the tourism sector, finding that not enough attention has been paid to those activities. This
study showed that women preferred special educational programs related to their actual
or future activities and the lack of funding for tourism companies created by women.
Table 5 summarizes the main findings related to tourism when evaluating sustainabil-
ity and female entrepreneurship:

Table 5. Findings that relate tourism with female entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Finding Description References

Women give importance to different aspects of sustainability,
T-1 specifically to the social and environmental characteristics, in the [45]
tourism industry.
Green growth perspective in relation to female entrepreneurship in the
T-2 [49]
tourism sector has not been widely studied.

3.2.4. Other
Developing a sustainable business model is increasingly important when founding
a new business. Stefan et al. [49] evaluated the different factors creating barriers that
prevent female entrepreneurs from achieving success, showing that women prefer to select
a sustainable business model rather than the traditional, profit-oriented model. Moreover,
it showed that the selection of a business model is influenced by internal factors (such
as strengths and weaknesses) rather than by external factors (such as opportunities and
threats).
Female entrepreneurship is theoretically defined by a framework [50] of five elements,
called the “5M framework”. These 5Ms are related to: market (opportunity), manage-
ment, money, meso environment and macro environment. A study [51] evaluated the
country with the highest rate of female entrepreneurship (34%) as reported by the Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor report [52] and proposed a sixth element in this framework.
This sixth element, “environmental thinking” shows the concern that female entrepreneurs
usually display when creating a new business.
Table 6 summarizes the main findings related to various topics when evaluating
sustainability and entrepreneurship:
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 9 of 12

Table 6. Findings that relate multiple topics with female entrepreneurship and sustainability.

Finding Description References

Females are more likely to create companies based on
O-1 [49]
sustainable models than profit-oriented models.
The female entrepreneurship theoretical framework is
O-2 [51]
defined by six elements including environmental thinking.

4. Discussion
The literature related to female entrepreneurship and sustainability is still immature
because of the novelty of the topic. Nevertheless, there is evidence to conclude that
women are concerned about the future of the planet, and that is why sustainability is a
critical topic in the activities performed. The articles found are divided into four different
approaches when analyzing the female entrepreneurship industry and sustainability: first,
the gender differences and how women become entrepreneurs while considering the green
economy, compared to men; second, the impact of the female workforce participating in
entrepreneurial activities and its relevance regarding sustainability; third, the importance
of female entrepreneurship and its link with sustainable tourism development; and fourth,
other topics related to the topic analyzed.
Gender differences when developing entrepreneurial activities and their relationship
with sustainability are important to highlight as the studies concluded that companies with
more female leaders are more sustainability-oriented. It is vital to confirm that women who
develop entrepreneurial activities function as drivers of a nations’ economic development
and socio-economic activities, and sustainable activities have already been recognized in
the literature in various economies [53–55].
According to the literature reviewed, women tend to create businesses based on their
knowledge, experience, added value, quality of services offered, and their impact on the
environment. On the contrary, men tend to develop businesses based on the benefits that
could be obtained.
Having female entrepreneurs involved in ensuring sustainability is positive for the
environment, as those activities are beneficial to sharing women’s skills (innovation, cre-
ativity and resilience, among others) within the workforce and increasing the probability
of developing strategies to avoid contamination and support sustainable activities. This is
key to achieving the goals defined in the SDGs and growing the economy in a stable and
sustainable way.
It was found that there is a strong relationship between the tourism industry and
sustainable development and the authors evaluated the factors that affect those activi-
ties. Moreover, the authors agree that there are gender differences when becoming en-
trepreneurs, especially, considering the sustainability of actions.
The existing theoretical framework that defines female entrepreneurship should be
revised to analyze if it is possible to include the environmental approach and specifically
reflect women’s awareness of social innovation and environmental opportunities.
Motivations, values, awareness, and social orientation are characteristics of female
entrepreneurship that should be promoted and encourage women to take up green en-
trepreneurship. The support from governments at national and international levels will be
critical when defining a sustainable post-carbon future.
Moreover, it is also required to extend the available research to cover the area of
sustainable entrepreneurship, considering young entrepreneurs, senior entrepreneurs and
the industry in which the entrepreneurial activity is developed.

5. Conclusions
This article proposed a systematic review to identify and analyze the most up-to-
date research on female entrepreneurship related to sustainability. This study provided a
holistic point of view to identify common points, differences, and gaps in these areas. The
descriptive analysis provided in this study shows that the interest in the topic has increased
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 10 of 12

exponentially since 2010, especially from 2016 onwards. The articles were published in
various prestigious journals, such as Sustainability and the Journal of Cleaner Production.
This review contributes to the existing literature in different ways. First, as the
main conclusion, this review shows that female entrepreneurs could have a stronger
potential for sustainable entrepreneurial activities, and this aspect should be supported by
policymakers to define a future based on renewable energy. Second, new programs and
policies are needed to encourage women to become entrepreneurs, and therefore, foster
sustainable activities. Finally, there is a lack of empirical studies in the literature, so more
research is needed to evaluate the impact of entrepreneurship in the green economy, and
additional data are needed to evaluate the impact of having more female entrepreneurs
in the workforce, influencing the sustainability of activities. The analysis of other aspects
related to green entrepreneurship could be extended to include the activities performed by
young entrepreneurs or senior entrepreneurs.
In general, the historical lack of role models for female entrepreneurship is beginning
to evaporate, and there is much female talent in entrepreneurial activities. It is important
to take advantage of female characteristics to create businesses that could comply with
the SDGs.

6. Limitations
This study has evaluated a large number of articles, and some limitations that have to
be highlighted. First, it is necessary to point out that the results have been obtained using a
specific query with very particular terms. Therefore, if those terms are changed, the results
could be affected.
Another point to consider is that the research has been focused on articles while
excluding information from books, conferences and other resources. Additional sources
could provide alternative conclusions to this research.
The final limitation is that only one database was utilized, and other databases could
extend the literature found and therefore the conclusions drawn.

7. Future Research
According to the research, it is obvious that female entrepreneurship is a very diverse
topic, and there are multiple potential directions for future research that could be explored.
The first potential line of study could be evaluating the results of the policies related to
sustainability in newly created companies to determine the importance of the differences
in sustainability policies in companies founded by females and by men. Most of the studies
found within the scope of this analysis are focused on the data of a specific country. The
second proposed line for future research is related to performing a multi-country evaluation
of the sustainability importance in companies founded by females, in a specific region, for
example, Europe, to compare if there are differences between Northern European countries
and Southern European countries.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.B.F. and M.d.C.G.-C.; methodology, M.B.F. and M.d.C.G.-
C.; validation, C.C.P.; formal analysis, M.B.F. and M.d.C.G.-C.; investigation, M.B.F. and M.d.C.G.-C.;
writing—original draft preparation, M.B.F. and M.d.C.G.-C.; writing—review and editing, C.C.P.;
supervision, C.C.P.; funding acquisition, C.C.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by Cátedra Mutua Madrileña-USPCEU, grant number 060516-
USPMM-01/17 and by the CEU-Banco Santander Scholarship for International Program.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Sustainability 2021, 13, 12047 11 of 12

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