A growing body of research addresses the question of whether and why female-led and male-led ventures differ in their funding success. With this systematic literature review we aim to shed light on the multiple sources and mechanisms of gender disparities in entrepreneurial equity financing. Based on 71 carefully selected studies, we identified various boundary conditions, which we organized into five well-defined dimensions (entrepreneur’s human and social capital, entrepreneur’s and investor’s verbal and non-verbal communication, investor characteristics, venture strategy and characteristics, and contextual factors). We observed that most of these boundary conditions have a different impact on the funding success of women-led and men-led ventures, as they can either impede or enhance access to capital. Moreover, the study results seem to vary depending on the financing form and context. Our review provides theoretical and methodological implications for future research, which may serve to disentangle inconsistent findings. We offer policy makers, investors and female entrepreneurs useful advice on how to alleviate gender disparities in equity financing.
