Pandemic hits women-led businesses harder than their male counterparts

Women-led businesses were impacted more by the pandemic as compared to businesses led by men, particularly in sectors hit hard by COVID-19 such as the hospitality sector and micro-businesses, according to a recent World Bank paper.

In the hospitality sector, women-led firms saw a 68% fall in anticipated sales, as compared to male-led businesses, which saw a 60% year-on-year fall in anticipated sales, showed the survey, which studied the impact of the pandemic on companies worldwide from April to September 2020. 

Women-led businesses also faced greater financial risk, with a majority reporting having less cash to cover their costs than male entrepreneurs. 

However, female-led businesses were found to exhibit resilience, and were likely to increase the use of digital platforms as compared to their male counterparts. 

Female entrepreneurs were also less likely to benefit from public support programmes worldwide than businesses led by males, two percentage points behind their male counterparts. 

READ: World Bank supports India’s informal sector workers

To that end, World Bank, on its private sector development blog, says that there is “a need for policy makers to raise awareness among women-led businesses of the available support programs, as well as to better inform women managers and owners on how they may benefit from these policy measures”.