Although the number of self-employed women has increased more than men in recent decades, there is still a clear under-representation of women in entrepreneurship. The propensity of women to become self-employed has long remained at a significantly lower level than that of men, and not only in Germany. Nevertheless, there are also clear differences within Germany, which are worth investigating further. The gender gap is already apparent at the beginning of the entrepreneurial process – women are significantly less likely to develop an interest in starting a business than men. In later phases, the gap hardly widens any further. Therefore, measures to reduce the under-representation of women should primarily focus on stimulating an interest in starting a business.