GENDER, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SOCIOECONOMIC REPARATION IN SOUTH AFRICA FredAhwireng-Obeng Entrepreneurship development has become recognized as a functional means of tackling South Africa's socioeconomic challenges of slow growth rate, rapidly increasing unemployment, and racially inequitable distribution of income. However, current policies and programs ignore the potential input of the female gender. Yet, females are proven to be capable of using their peculiar gender dispositions effectively as small and micro entrepreneurs. The article examines the socioeconomic out- comes of South Africa's systemic crisis, gender-specific influences on entrepreneurial supply and alternative women-in-entrepreneurship pro- grams that could be implemented with sensitivity to that country's socioculturai diversity. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT There are perhaps as many definitions of entrepreneurship as there are entrepreneurs. For the purpose of this article, however, we adopt the functional view of entrepreneurship as a type of activity or practice with implications for generating jobs, fostering innovation and increasing pro- ductivity by means of which the creation of incomes and wealth is en- hanced. The capacity for innovation is manifested in the ability to shift re- sources from an area of lower productivity into one of higher productivity and yield. Regarding the supply of entrepreneurs who are the actors behind this activity, we take the view that they do not belong to any narrow group in society. They are potentially everywhere. They could be young or old, black or white, professionals or unskilled workers, males