A Comparative Assessment of Risk Taking Aptitude Amongst Male and Female Entrepreneurs in India

Abstract

Existing research on women's entrepreneurship in India has concentrated heavily on structural and policy barriers such as credit access, board representation, scheme reach while rarely measuring risk-taking aptitude itself using a validated psychometric instrument, or testing whether the structural conditions the literature documents actually moderate any gender–risk relationship. This study addresses that gap using a structured online survey of 39 entrepreneurs (20 female, 19 male) across Indian metropolitan and tier-2/3 locations, employing an adapted risk-attitude scale alongside items on family responsibility, perceived investor treatment, and access to finance. After reliability analysis (Cronbach's α), three poorly-correlated items were dropped, yielding an acceptable 5-item Risk-Taking Index (α = 0.69). An independent-samples t-test found no statistically significant difference in risk-taking propensity between female (M = 2.86) and male (M = 3.11) entrepreneurs, t(36.95) = -0.89, p = .380 amongst the urban entrepreneurs. Spearman correlations likewise found no significant association between the Risk-Taking Index and age, business tenure, or household income. These null results suggest that, within this sample of established, urban, mid-career entrepreneurs, demographic variables including gender may be weaker predictors of risk-taking behavior than psychological or contextual factors not captured here. Implications for future research design and instrument validation are discussed.