Female entrepreneurs: Past, present and future

This article is an attempt to trace the actual state of academic research on female entrepreneurship. Reviewing and summarizing the trends emerging from the findings of previous studies on women's presence in the entrepreneurial activity during the last decade, and presenting them according to Gartner's (1985) new venture creation framework. It involves the individual characteristics of the entrepreneur, the nature of women-owned business, the process by which the new business is started, and the environment surrounding the new venture. We present for each of these dimensions emerging trends, future research and implications are proposed.