Changes

[[category:McNair Projects]]

In the area of capital, studies find that women do not get sufficient access to loans and venture capital. Women owners start with almost half of the financial capital than men owners and raises less money when businesses grow.

*On average, men start their businesses with nearly twice as much capital as women ($135,000 vs. $75,000). This disparity is slightly larger among firms with high-growth potential ($320,000 vs. $150,000), and much larger in the Top 25 firms ($1.3 million vs. $210,000).(“Top 25”: the largest 25 firms for each gender, as measured by employment.)

*Women owners are more likely to be turned down for loans with less favorable term than men. Some women do not apply for loans simply because they fear being turned down.

*Differences in business credits, firm size and business growth potential explain most of differences in loan approval rates for men and women owners. Women owners tend to have lower business credit scores compare to men owners.

(Resource:[https://www.dol.gov/wb/media/Women-Owned_Businesses_in_The_21st_Century.pdf Women Owned Businesses in 21st Century]prepared by U.S Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration in Oct.2010) This is a very comprehensive report on women owned businesses in the US, concerning both status of women owned businesses and the role of gender in business ownership.

*Women owned firms are typically smaller than men owned firms

*Average sales/assets/profits/employment for women owned firms are much lower than men-owned firms, and have grown in a slow rate

(Resource:[https://www.dol.gov/wb/media/Women-Owned_Businesses_in_The_21st_Century.pdf Women Owned Businesses in 21st Century]prepared by U.S Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration in Oct.2010)

*From government:

Congress has focused on improving and expanding SBA-backed small business lending programs. Women are three to five times more likely to be approved for an SBA-backed loan than a traditional loan[http://www.microbiz.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/21st-Century-Barriers-to-Womens-Entrepreneurship.pdf]. Through the [https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-initiatives/small-business-jobs-act-2010 Small Business Jobs Act], Congress increased the maximum SBA Microloan amount from $35,000 to $50,000, which has given women-owned businesses access to more credit to start and grow their businesses.