How do women entrepreneurs use the virtual network Facebook? The impact of gender

This paper examines the views and attitudes of a sample of 228 female entrepreneurs in Belgium towards the virtual social network Facebook. It uses statistical analysis to evaluate the impact of their gendered sector of activity and of their self-perceptions on: how Facebook is perceived as responding to gender-related difficulties; how Facebook is used in terms of objectives and activities; how Facebook supports women’s networks; and the outcomes of Facebook for women-owned businesses. The results highlight significant differences according to women’s sectors of activity and self-perceptions with regard to how Facebook is perceived and used. They support the idea of an active posture of women entrepreneurs, allowing for action to be taken to deconstruct and counterbalance existing gender dynamics. The paper highlights certain implications for public and private initiatives and underlines the potential of this and other virtual social networking sites for women’s entrepreneurship.