Social entrepreneurship competency: an approach by discipline and gender

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze how university men and women in different disciplines of study in Mexico perceive social entrepreneurship competencies, using a multifactorial analysis to find possible areas of opportunity to reduce the gender gap in social-entrepreneurship-project proposals. Design/methodology/approach - This is a quantitative study with a validated questionnaire that records the perception levels of five social entrepreneurship subcompetencies. The survey, which includes 28 indicators, was applied to 140 university students from different disciplines. Hypothesis testing was applied to identify significant differences between men and women in each subcompetency by disciplinary area. Findings - In the global sample, significant differences by gender were observed only in the social value subcompetency. In the disciplinary analysis, significant differences were found in architecture and design, business, and engineering and science. Research limitations/implications - The questionnaire only gathered data about the students' perceptions. To the extent that perception is triangulated with other instruments, it is possible to increase knowledge regarding how to train in social entrepreneurship. Practical implications - The results can be useful for university training and increasing the envisioning and formulating of government projects by young people who create new businesses. Originality/value - This research contributes to the literature on the role of gender-specific perceptions of social entrepreneurship in Mexico.