Reasons for the Relatively Lower Entrepreneurial Activity Levels of Rural Women in Spain Otilia Driga,* Esteban Lafuente and Yancy Vaillant Abstract This study examines the impact that selected institutional factors have upon the entre- preneurial activity of women and men in rural areas. To do so, the results of the Adult Population Survey from the Spanish Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for the year 2004 have been used in a rare events logit regression model where rurality and sex have been introduced as interaction terms in order to identify any statistically significant distinc- tions of the impact of the selected independent variables upon rural women’s entrepre- neurial activity. The results indicate that compared to rural men, Spanish rural women tend to be less involved in entrepreneurial activities and are less optimistic about their abilities as entrepreneurs, although the fear of failure is not a significant impediment of their involvement in entrepreneurship. Introduction P olicymakers and academics have generally come to consider entrepreneurship as a source of economic and social development. Over the last decade, as potential creators of new businesses, women have been recognised as an untapped source of economic growth (OECD 2004). In most parts of the world women entrepreneurship has been increasing. The number of businesses created and controlled by women has reached more than one-third of the newly established businesses (Minniti et al. 2005, 2006). However, and contrary to what has been found in the UK (Warren-Smith and Jackson 2004; Harding 2006) this proportion remains relatively lower in most rural areas of Spain, even when the demographic distribution of women has been accounted for. The relative hardships of rural women have long been studied (Shortall 2002; Bock 2004). Women have generally not found a very active role in contemporary rural society. Modern agrarian production processes have done away with much of the functions once filled by women. Today they are often deterred from rural life because of the lack of opportunities for them in these areas. Having few opportunities for © 2008 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2008 European Society for Rural Sociology. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK Sociologia Ruralis, Vol 49, Number 1, January 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00475.x