Polarization refers to the prevalence of extreme and opposing positions across the spectrum of opinions, beliefs, and values, which deepens political divides and fosters an “us versus them” mindset. While political polarization has spread globally in recent years, eroding public trust and enabling populist leaders to challenge established institutions, its implications for entrepreneurship, particularly female entrepreneurship, remain underexplored in the literature. Based on a data set covering more than 1,328,793 observations of women from 42 countries, spanning the period 1995 to 2020, this paper addresses this issue by theorizing and examining how women's entrepreneurship responds to political polarization and what mechanisms amplify or mitigate its effects across diverse ideological and cultural contexts. We find that political polarization negatively affects women's propensity to start businesses, thereby exacerbating gender disparities in entrepreneurship. However, these effects are moderated by contextual factors, such as the ideological orientation of governments and cultural norms surrounding religious freedom. This study contributes to the understanding of polarization as a critical driver of female entrepreneurship, offering both theoretical insights and empirical evidence on a contemporary issue that remains underexplored in the international business literature.
