Gender differences in farm entrepreneurship: comparing farming performance of women and men in Italy

Gender differences in rural enterprise are a relevant field of analysis which calls for a deeper investigation concerning key variables affecting farm’s performance and on the basis of gender. This paper tries to explore eventual gender gaps in the farms of Italy. Two variables are investigated: “Who” variable discriminate farm’s manager on the basis of gender under a constituent perspective of female entrepreneurship. “Where” context is articulated in business, social and spatial context, with the aim of excavating the multiple dimensions of farm entrepreneurship. In order to bring out the differences between male and female condominium farms in Italy, an econometric model was applied, with the aim of identifying context-related differences. The results confirm gender gaps related to farm performance, networking, diversification strategies and access to rural policies, by enlightening diverse paths of development in rural enterprises on the basis of explanatory variables. Therefore, adopted methodology reveals its utility in explaining gender gaps and addressing targeted policy implication at the beginning of a new programming era for the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU.