Revised City of South Bend Disparity Study Report

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CCS of South Bend Disoarity Study 2020 ii. The Report on Women -Owned Businesses The Report on Women -Owned Businesses provides results from woman -owned small employer firms where 51 percent or more of the business is owned by women. The Report compared the experience of these firms with men -owned small employer firms. Firm Characteristics: Women -Owned Firms Start Small and Remain Small and Concentrate in Less Capital -Intensive Industries The SBCS found that 20 percent of small employer firms are women - owned, compared to 65 percent men -owned and 15 percent equally owned. Women -owned firms generally had smaller revenues and fewer employees than men -owned small employer firms. These firms tended to be younger than men -owned firms. Women -owned firms were concentrated in less capital -intensive indus- tries. Two out of five women -owned firms operated in the healthcare and education or professional services and real estate industries. Men - owned firms were concentrated in professional services, real estate, and non -manufacturing goods production and associated services. Profitability Challenges and Credit Risk Disparities Women -owned firms were less likely to be profitable than men -owned firms. These firms were more likely to report being medium or high credit risk compared to men -owned firms. Notably, gender differences by credit risk were driven by women -owned startups. Among firms older than five years, credit risk was indistinguishable by the owner's gender. Financial Challenges During the Prior Twelve Months Women -owned firms were more likely to report experiencing financial challenges in the prior twelve months: 64 percent compared to 58 per- cent of men -owned firms. They most frequently used personal funds to fill gaps and make up deficiencies. Similar to men -owned firms, women -owned firms frequently funded operations through retained earnings. Ninety percent of women -owned firms relied upon the owner's personal credit score to obtain financing. Debt Differences Sixty-eight percent of women -owned firms had outstanding debt, simi- lar to men -owned firms. However, women -owned firms tended to have smaller amounts of debt, even when controlled for the revenue size of the firm. O 2020 Colette Holt & Associates, All Rights Reserved. 87