Using a large dataset for Germany, this paper shows that both the raw and the unexplained gender earnings gap are higher in self-employment than in paid employment. More than a quarter of the difference in monthly self-employment earnings can be traced back to women working fewer hours than men. In contrast variables like family background, working time flexibility and career aspirations do not seem to contribute much to the gender earnings gap, suggesting that self-employed women do not earn less because they are seeking work-family balance rather than profits. Segregation does not contribute either to the gender earnings gap in a robust way.