1.3 How Much Do You Know About Women Entrepreneurs?

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How well do you think you know Canadian women entrepreneurs? Test your knowledge by completing the following questionnaire.

True or false? Indicate whether the following statements are true or false.
Our toolkit includes data taken from the 2017 Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises. The 2022 Survey is available at the following link: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220302/dq220302b-cansim-eng.htm

However, please note that the data included in this most recent survey is greatly influenced by the recent worldwide pandemic, making it difficult to compare it to the stats included in our toolkit which are based on a pre-pandemic period survey.

The growth rates of women-owned businesses are usually lower than those of men-owned businesses.

True. Majority women-owned businesses typically have lower growth rates than majority men-owned businesses. According to recent statistics, 21.5% of majority men-owned businesses have high or medium growth rates, compared to 18.7% of majority women-owned businesses.¹ However, statistics show that the annual growth rates for women-owned businesses are gradually increasing.²This certainly bodes well for the future.

Women entrepreneurs often have access to smaller business networks and fewer mentors than their male counterparts.

True. Lack of access to entrepreneurial networks and mentors is a major obstacle for many women entrepreneurs and aspiring women entrepreneurs.³

Majority women-owned businesses are often micro-enterprises with fewer employees.

True. Most majority women-owned businesses have fewer than 20 employees (92.7%), which works out to 19% of all businesses in that category.⁴

A higher proportion of women entrepreneurs have completed post-secondary studies compared to men entrepreneurs.

True. Although most business owners have completed post-secondary studies, women entrepreneurs tend to have a higher education level than their male counterparts overall. Approximately 78.2% of majority women-owned businesses are run by women who took post-secondary studies; for majority men-owned businesses, that figure is 68.4%.⁵

Women are less likely to use personal funds for business financing than men.

False. Women entrepreneurs are as likely as men to use their personal funds for business financing purposes. Research confirms that the proportion of women entrepreneurs relying on self-financing is similar to their male counterparts.⁶

Women usually have less experience as business owners or managers than men.

True. As a general rule, men have more experience as business owners and managers. For wholly owned women businesses, 9.3% of the owners have less than five years of experience; the figure for men-owned businesses in the same category is 5.8%. Furthermore, 73.3% of 100% men-owned businesses are run by owners with more than ten years of experience, while the corresponding figure for women entrepreneurs is 65.2%.⁷

Under similar situations/conditions, women entrepreneurs have the same likelihood of obtaining business financing as men.

True. When women and men entrepreneurs find themselves in similar situations/conditions, women are equally as likely as men to obtain financing.⁸ The challenge is then to ensure that women can stay on the same playing field as men by enabling them to operate in similar conditions. This is difficult to achieve given that women face more barriers than men.

The proportion of women entrepreneurs is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

False. The proportion of women entrepreneurs is higher in urban areas.⁹ Approximately 16.5% of businesses in urban areas are majority women-owned, compared to 11.8% in rural areas.¹⁰

The proportion of incorporated companies is lower for majority women-owned businesses than it is for all businesses, on average.

True. The proportion of incorporated companies is 77% for majority women-owned businesses, compared to an overall average of 87%.¹¹

Women entrepreneurs are usually older than their male counterparts.

False. Women entrepreneurs are usually younger than men. According to statistics, 20.1% of majority women-owned businesses have owners under 40 years old, compared to 15.1% for men in the same category. Men business owners (13.3%) outnumber women (9.5%) in the over-65 category.¹²

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References

_{¹ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), 2017, Innovation,}_{Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23rd 2020).; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. 7.}
_{_{²Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. 7.
_{³The Beacon Agency (March 2018) Everywhere, Every Day Innovating: Women Entrepreneurs and Innovation Report, with Carleton University, BMO Financial Group, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada and Indigenous and Northern Affaires Canada, p. 10, 29.; Souha R. Ezzedeen and Jelena Zikic, « Entrepreneurial experiences of women in Canadian high technology », International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 4, n° 1 (2012), p. 44-64.; Pauric McGowan, Sarah Cooper, Mark Durkin and Caroline O’Kane, « The influence of social and human capital in developing young women as entrepreneurial business leaders », Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 53, no 3 (2015), p. 645-661; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2017). Policy Brief on Women’s Entrepreneurship, p. 15.}_{⁴Douwere Grekou, Jiang Li and Huju Liu (2018). The Measurement of Business Ownership by Gender in the Canadian Employer–Employee Dynamics Database, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-633-x/11-633-x2018017-eng.htm (page consulted October 22^nd 2020).; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. 7.}
_{⁵ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), Tables 31 and 40, 2017, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23^rd 2020).}
_{⁶ ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), Table 16 and 17, 2017, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted April 27^th 2021).; She’s Next Empowered by Visa (2019). The State of Canadian Women’s Entrepreneurship, p. 7.; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. iv.}
_{⁷ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), 2017, Innovation,}_{Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23^rd 2020).}
_{⁸Barbara Orser, Allan Riding and Kathryn Manley, « Women entrepreneurs and financial capital », Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice, vol. 30, no 5 (2006), p. 643-665.;ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), Table 3 and 4, 2017, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted April 27^th 2021).; Scotiabank Women Initiative (2020). Financial Knowledge & Financial Confidence: Closing Gender Gaps in Financing Canadian Small Businesses, p. 3.; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. 53.}
_{⁹ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), 2017, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23^rd 2020).; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. 8.}
_{¹⁰ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), 2017, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23^rd 2020).; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (2020). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020, Toronto, Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, p. 77.}
^₁₁_{ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), 2017, Innovation,}_{Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23^rd 2020).}
_{¹²ISED (2018). Survey on financing and growth of small and medium enterprises (SFGSME), Tables 31 and 40, 2017, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada, https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf/$file/SFGSME-EFCPME_2017_eng_public.pdf (page consulted October 23^rd 2020).}}}

Disclaimer
All documents prepared for the LEADING LENDERS project were developed in line with the most appropriate and recent terminology. However, we recognize that terminology is subject to change over time. To the best of our ability, we have attempted to use terminology that respects the dignity and rights of all individuals.

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1.3 How Much Do You Know About Women Entrepreneurs?

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