DIGITAL SKILLS, ACCESS TO FINANCE, AND GENDER RIGHTS AWARENESS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT IN DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG PAKISTANI WOMEN

Abstract

Women's digital entrepreneurship has emerged as an important driver of economic development, financial inclusion, and women's empowerment, particularly in developing economies where digital technologies provide new opportunities for business creation and growth. This study investigates the relationships between digital skills, access to finance, gender rights awareness, and women's entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on the mediating role of women's empowerment and the influence of self-efficacy. The study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 392 women entrepreneurs operating online businesses in Pakistan, including businesses managed through digital platforms and social media applications. The data were analysed using Python by employing descriptive statistics, Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) analysis, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression with HC1 robust standard errors, bootstrapped mediation analysis (5,000 resamples), and diagnostic tests. The findings reveal that gender rights awareness and women's empowerment have significant positive effects on women's entrepreneurship, whereas digital skills, access to finance, and self-efficacy do not exhibit significant direct effects. However, women's empowerment significantly mediates the relationships between digital skills, access to finance, and women's entrepreneurship, highlighting empowerment as an important mechanism through which digital competencies and financial resources translate into entrepreneurial outcomes. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, digital training providers, and development organisations to strengthen women's empowerment through improved digital capabilities, financial accessibility, and gender rights awareness. This study contributes to the women entrepreneurship literature by integrating Empowerment Theory, Human Capital Theory, and Social Cognitive Theory into a unified framework and by identifying women's empowerment as a key pathway linking digital resources and financial inclusion to entrepreneurial success among digital women entrepreneurs in Pakistan.