Impacto de las variables de percepcion en la creacion de empresas de mujeres en colombia.

According to the GEM Report on Colombia female entrepreneurship rate has been lower than the male rate in the last three years. Many factors can explain this situation. We consider in this research the influence of perception variables, i.e. those that are particular to each individual, as those that determine the differences between women and men when they make the decision to start a new business. We selected six variables that we believe explain these differences: fear of failure, self-perception of ability, perception of opportunities, knowledge of other entrepreneurs, business life and motivation to undertake. To explain the condition of man or woman entrepreneur, we use the unified database of GEM Colombia, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The results show that, with similar demographic characteristics of the sample studied, the differences in the rate of entrepreneurship for women in Colombia can be explained by personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs and specifically, the knowledge of other business variables and perception of opportunities constitute the greatest impact and significance, explaining the differences between women and men entrepreneurs. The findings may be the starting point for further analysis of the motivations surrounding female entrepreneurship and other personal variables that may affect the decision of women to undertake.