Women-owned businesses on the rise, but barriers persist: study

A woman walks through Toronto's financial district on Monday, July 30, 2018. A new study finds that while the pandemic disproportionately hurt female entrepreneurs, women-owned businesses are on the rise. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

TORONTO — A new study finds that while the pandemic disproportionately hurt female entrepreneurs, the number of women-owned businesses is on the rise.

The Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub’s 2023 State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada report says the proportion of majority women-owned businesses is increasing. 

The study estimates 18 per cent of businesses are majority-owned by women, up from 16.8 per cent in 2020 and 15.6 per cent in 2017.

Lead researcher Wendy Cukier, the founder of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Diversity Institute, says she is also encouraged that the gender gap related to early interest in entrepreneurship and innovation is shrinking.

But the study shows majority male-owned businesses have higher survival rates than majority female-owned businesses in the 14 years after their creation.

Female entrepreneurs also tend to be concentrated in some sectors and underrepresented in others, and face barriers such as lack of access to capital through financial institutions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.

The Canadian Press