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Women-Owned Businesses Face a Tougher Road to Recovery from COVID-19

In this report, FreshBooks shares how COVID-19 negatively affected U.S small business owners in 2020, with a specific focus on the disproportionate effect on women-owned businesses.

COVID-19 Continues to Widen the Gender Gap

In the last 20 years, the number of women-owned businesses increased by 114%. However, the pandemic shifted this picture significantly, with female entrepreneurs taking a bigger hit than their male counterparts. Here’s what the research found:

Women-Owned Businesses Are Taking Longer to Recover

At the onset of the pandemic, women-owned businesses took three times longer to rebound to normal levels than businesses run by men.

Women Face a Higher Risk of Burnout

44% of female entrepreneurs took on more child and elderly care responsibilities, compared to only 35% of men.

Female Dominated Industries Are the Hardest Hit

Education, administration, and social assistance businesses run by women took the longest to recover when compared to men.

How Women Business Owners Fared During COVID-19