Does risk aversion and confidence hold women back?

I recently witnessed a female friend on Facebook trying to figure out whether to accept a job from a small but growing start-up company or a more certain and stable job with an established organization. My first thought was that “Hey, it’s a gamble, but you’ve got a lot more to gain if the start-up takes off. So that might be worthwhile even if it doesn’t pay as well.” Then it turned out that the start-up paid better, but the question was how stable they might be for the long run. Interpret it as you like, but to me it lo0ked like someone’s preference for security holding them back. I’d like to know how others see it, and how they see themselves and people around them dealing with those choices between opportunity and security?

As a personal note, this issue means something extra to me because I’m working on my own confidence when it comes to taking chances. I see a lot of successful people who aren’t successful because they’re necessarily smarter, but because they decided to act. I battle my own fear of failure and lack of belief in myself because I think that there’s a higher reward in taking life risks than my insecurities tell me there is. Fortunately I get a lot of moral support. I’m also wondering how the culture around you makes you more or less willing to take chances?