When Freedom Meets Barriers: How Job Autonomy Shapes Women Entrepreneurs’ Work–Life Balance

What is it about?

This study investigates how women entrepreneurs’ sense of job autonomy—their ability to make independent choices about how they manage their work—affects their work–life balance, and how this connection depends on the broader social, economic, and cultural conditions in which they operate. By integrating cross-country data, the authors explore whether freedom at work helps women better manage competing professional and personal demands, especially in environments marked by gender-based discrimination. Using data from 5,334 women entrepreneurs across 37 countries, the study finds that job autonomy boosts satisfaction with work–life balance. This effect is strongest in nations where women face restrictive socio-economic and institutional conditions, showing that autonomy acts as a vital coping resource in unequal systems. However, in culturally discriminatory contexts, where gender norms are deeply entrenched, autonomy offers weaker protection, as traditional expectations constrain women’s ability to convert freedom into balance. For policymakers and business practitioners, these findings highlight that initiatives promoting women’s autonomy must be tailored to context. Programs that expand women’s control over their work are especially valuable where institutional and economic barriers persist, but in settings dominated by traditional cultural beliefs, more profound social change is needed to make autonomy meaningful. Supporting gender equality thus requires a dual strategy: empowering women entrepreneurs directly while reshaping the environments that constrain them.

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Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study provides a comprehensive, cross-country analysis of how women’s autonomy interacts with different forms of discrimination to influence work–life balance. By distinguishing between socio-economic, institutional, and cultural environments, it uncovers why autonomy benefits women entrepreneurs more in some contexts than others. The research is timely amid global efforts to promote gender equality and women’s entrepreneurship. It demonstrates that while job autonomy is a crucial personal and professional resource, its benefits are not universal—they depend on the type of barriers women face. In highlighting how autonomy empowers women differently across environments, the study offers practical insights for designing context-sensitive policies that support both women’s entrepreneurial success and their overall life satisfaction.