Self-employed women in India face several disadvantages compared with their male counterparts, such as smaller business sizes, higher turnover, wide earnings gaps, and a disproportionate presence as unpaid family workers. We examined whether social norms (more supportive versus less supportive of women entrepreneurs) and perceived sanctions on women entrepreneurs (absence versus presence) are related to women’s propensity to run a business. Using a survey conducted in 2022 in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, we examined the associations between norms, sanctions, and female entrepreneurship. We found that women who express supportive descriptive norms about female entrepreneurs are four to seven times more likely to run a business than those with less supportive norms. In Bihar, we found that this association is stronger among women who do not perceive social sanctions. Our results suggest that creating greater acceptance of women running businesses is important for promoting women’s entrepreneurship in India.