I document a significant gender gap in entrepreneurs’ access to early-stage equity financing. Using unique administrative data on French startups, I show that this gap is particularly pronounced in male-dominated sectors. Controlling for a comprehensive set of entrepreneur and startup characteristics—including demographics, backgrounds, and motivations—accounts for 42% of the average gender gap. However, in male-dominated sectors, 80% of the gap remains unexplained. Growth-oriented female entrepreneurs rely more heavily on bank loans, substituting equity with debt. Finally, VC-backed female-founded startups outperform their male counterparts in male-dominated sectors. These findings suggest that context-dependent stereotypes influence equity financing decisions.

Firms enter new sectors by either building on their resources or buying existing companies. Using French administrative data, we propose a measure of human capital distance between a firm and a sector of entry. Using a shift-share instrument, we show that firms build in close sectors and buy in distant sectors in terms of human capital distance. Firms build by hiring new workers, which becomes increasingly costly in distant sectors as it requires not only hiring more workers but also having more organizational capital to integrate these workers. Hence, firms buy in distant sectors to acquire already operational human capital.