The good news is that women make up a sizable force of American business owners. The bad news is women still have a tough time accessing credit and capital. A recent a study found that companies with female CEOs receive just 3% of the $50.8 billion venture capitalists invested in companies between 2011 and 2013.
And more recently, a survey from credit-reporting and analysis agency Experian shows that the women still lag in terms of sales revenue, credit ranking and personal income.
Analyzing women and men owned businesses from a credit perspective based on a sample of business and personal credit data, Experian’s “State of Women Business Owner Credit” report constructed a profile of women-owned that revealed some eye-opening results about the state of women-owned businesses compared to male-owned ventures.
(http://www.experian.com/business-information/landing/women-business-owner-study.html?WT.srch=BIS_wbostudy_2015_PR)
It revealed that:
· More than 24 percent of male-owned businesses have sales that exceed $500,000, while only 14.5 percent of women-owned businesses have sales of that size
· 21.2 percent of male business owners have a personal income of $125,000 or more, compared to just 17.4 percent of female business owners
· The business credit score for a male-owned business was 35, compared to 34 for a female-owned business
· 22 percent of male-owned businesses have at least one open commercial trade account, while the same can be said for only 18.5 percent of female-owned businesses
These findings suggest the importance for private and government programs and policies that make it easier for women to get access to credit, loans and other financing. Here is a snapshot of the findings for both genders.
Jay Jay Ghatt is also editor at Techyaya.com, founder of the JayJayGhatt.com and JayJayGhatt.com where she teaches online creators how to navigate digital entrepreneurship and offers Do-It-For-You Blogging Service. She manages her lifestyle sites BellyitchBlog, Jenebaspeaks and JJBraids.com and is the founder of BlackWomenTech.com 200 Black Women in Tech On Twitter. Her biz podcast 10 Minute Podcast is available on iTunes and Player.fm. Follow her on Twitter at @Jenebaspeaks. Buy her templates over at her legal and business templates on Etsy shop!
