The Nordic countries are viewed as forerunners on gender equality and women’s labour force participation. However, we note that there are far fewer women than men starting businesses in the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries are often considered to be culturally similar: they have similar social systems, economic structures, labour markets, concepts of democracy, models of the welfare state, and universal public services (Arenius & Kovalainen, 2006). Nevertheless, there are clear differences in the share of female entrepreneurs across the Nordic countries. Why is this?