Key findings were that women-owned businesses averaged 15% lower average annual revenue, had 21% higher operating expenses, lower credit scores, and encountered a harder time securing finances than male-owned companies.
Women-owned vs. Male-owned Businesses
- Women to Men Ratio: 29% vs 71% registrations on Biz2Credit.com
- Small business loan approval rates for women-owned companies are 15-20% lower than they are for male-owned companies.
- Average Annual Revenue: Women-owned businesses averaged 15% lower annual revenue than male-owned companies
- Average Operating Expenses: Women-owned businesses tended to have average operating expenses that were 21% higher than male-owned companies
- Average Credit Score: On an average, the credit scores for women-owned businesses were 40 points lower than for male-owned companies
- Average Age of Business (in Months): 40 vs 41 (the age of businesses were roughly the same)
"Women tended to be more involved in retail operations, which generally have higher operating expenses and smaller margins. This may also account for their lower credit scores," said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, who oversaw the research. "Banks look at these figures and thus find women-owned businesses more risky to fund, which accounts for the lower loan approval rates for women."
