According to a survey from Builders + Backers and Her Corner, women business owners were passed over in several significant ways throughout the Payroll Protection Program process, leaving them unable to take full advantage of the program.
More specifically, the study found:
- Nearly a quarter of all women-owned businesses surveyed never got their foot in the door to apply. Extrapolated nationally, three million women-owned businesses that needed funding critical to stay open likely never even had a shot at a PPP loan.
- Women relied heavily on large national banks and, when they did, their likelihood of obtaining a PPP loan plummeted. There were also substantial and troubling differences in how women fared between the various financial institutions.
- Women-owned businesses asked for and received less money than national averages despite evidence that women-owned companies are better investments for financial backers.
- The PPP loan process was a microcosm of the gender funding gap. From a system with a propensity to discourage them from applying to their own conservative tendencies or fear of being turned down and more, all the ways the financing cards are stacked against women were on full display in the PPP process.
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The study was conducted by Builders + Backers and Her Corner with support from Springboard Enterprises and HelloAlice through a random sample of each organization’s membership and networks. The survey was conducted by email from April 17-22, 2020 and 337 usable responses were collected.
Builders + Backers shares proven frameworks and tools with local entrepreneurial thinkers and doers to equip them to accelerate their communities’ economic engines and stimulate flourishing.
Her Corner is a Washington, DC-based education-company committed to helping women grow their businesses.
Springboard‘s mission is to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial companies led by women through access to essential resources and a global community of experts.
Hello Alice is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow.
