Female entrepreneurship, creating shared value, and empowerment in tourism; the neutralizing effect of gender-based discrimination

Given the significance of entrepreneurial women’s contribution to the tourism industry and the fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal (gender equality) this study aims to investigate: first, the interrelationship between women entrepreneurship, creating shared value, and women’s empowerment; and second, the effect of gender-based discriminations on women’s entrepreneurship, creation shared value, and women’s empowerment in the tourism context. Data were collected from 167 Iranian women operating various tourism-related enterprises and analysed using structural equation modelling in WarpPLS software. The results highlight the positive direct and indirect effects of female entrepreneurship on women’s empowerment and the importance of the mediating role of creating shared value between these two constructs. The results also confirmed the negative impacts of gender-based discrimination in entrepreneurship and creating shared value for female tourism entrepreneurs in Iran. The practical implications of the study, limitations, and potential directions for future research are discussed.