Characteristics of women and men entrepreneurs according to the student population in Croatia

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to determine which characteristics the student population, especially student rural population, perceives as typical of women and men entrepreneurs, respectively, their grouping into latent factors, and the identification of possible differences in attitudes of respondents with regard to their demographic variables. Methodology: An indicative survey was conducted on a sample of 1,157 respondents of the student population in Croatia by a questionnaire as a research tool. Descriptive statistical data analysis, inferential statistics, simple analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) and exploratory factor analysis were used in the research. Results: The results show that there are differences in attitudes towards the characteristics of women entrepreneurs and men entrepreneurs, with particular emphasis on differences in the perception of women’s entrepreneurship in rural areas. Conclusion: Positive trends in thinking about women’s entrepreneurship in rural areas are very interesting and promising, which may eventually result in a reduction in the women’s unemployment rate in rural areas and in valuing women as capable entrepreneurs.